NARUTO: DARK HEART
by coso
Summary: What if Naruto was trained to use the Force by the spirit of a Sith Lord? Smart and strong Naruto, ready to crush anyone in his way if he can get away with it. No showing off involved, he'll be clever and patient schemer.
1. Chapter 1

**NARUTO: DARKHEART by coso**

**AUTHOR'S DISCLAIMER : **I don't own Naruto, that's Kishimoto's story and I believe that everyone knows who is responsible for the fantastic world of Star Wars. Not me that's for sure. I am borrowing the broad concept of the Force from Lucas's brilliant universe, but none of his characters. Naruto, well I'm changing him for the sake of my story.

**SUMMARY: **What if Naruto was Force sensitive and had a teacher who could show him how to use the Force? And if that teacher was the spirit of a Sith Lord? Akatsuki, watch out!

**CHAPTER 1**

On unknown planet in a galaxy far, far away...

Fires raged amidst the rubble of the ancient city, lightning flashed and thunder boomed and skies were a rolling blackness that obscured the sun. The ruins were thousand years old and not much remained standing, not after so much damage caused by plasma and blaster fire and powerful bombs used by the marching armies of sentients at war among themselves. It was just one of many battles waged between the armies of Sith and the Republic. No matter how hard they fought, the Republic forces led by valiant Jedi Knights never managed to fully extinguish the Sith Lords. But today, the Jedi were to be victorious.

Two shapes moved in the rubble, both just shadows in the dark. Ordinary person would need a vision enhancer to see anything, let alone navigate the treacherous ensemble of stone, metal and other composite materials. But these two weren't ordinary, they were Force users of high skill and great power.

The Force was a mysterious energy field that is said to encompass the whole galaxy and all things within, binding them together, penetrating them – and making it all one living wholeness of massive, unimaginable power. Many people studied it for many lifetimes, until the start of the entire order of mystical scholars devoted to understanding of the Force. They came to realize that many seemingly magical feats like mind reading, telekinesis, healing and others were just various uses of the Force. These scholars came to develop means of training young minds to better understand the Force and use it. They became the Jedi Order, protectors of the galactic civilisation and knowledge.

As the ages passed, the Jedi grew more powerful and knowledgeable. They came to realize that there was a dark aspect of the Force, Bogan. Later they called it just the Dark Side and chose not to study it because they sensed great power and danger within that current of the Force. But as it usually is, some Jedi thought they could do more good by studying the wholeness of the Force, which meant the Dark side too. They chose to let go of the restraints of the Order, they actively sought ways to increase their powers in the Force. They believed it was wrong to limit oneself from reaching their maximum potential. That thinking led them to believe that if one could do something, why shouldn't he?

Eventually these revolutionaries were discovered as they openly started to try and convince their fellows to abandon security for the sake of unlimited knowledge and understanding. It led to an open schism in the Order, and the first Jedi internal war. The Dark Jedi lost, because their numbers and powers were lesser than those of their former brethren. But the seed of hatred was sown and it grew strong, fueled by the passion and anger of the former Jedi who felt betrayed even though they were the traitors who struck first. They were exiled out of the known territories of the galaxy to roam alone and never return.

The exiles were few. In time they stumbled upon a world full of strong Dark Side practitioners. They called themselves the Sith. The exiles saw great potential in those people and a hope for themselves. They conquered these people who viewed them as their gods who descended from heavens wielding awesome powers. In time the exiles and the Sith became one race separated in castes, but the leaders were descended from the exiles (who were mostly human) and were the strongest Force users. They became Sith Lords led by one supreme Sith Lord. They spread to several other worlds and formed their Sith Empire, but it was tiny when compared to many worlds of the Republic.

In time the Sith found their way back to the Republic and it started a long sporadic series of Sith emergence and wars with the Republic and the Jedi. The Sith always caused massive devastation and deaths as living servants of the malevolent Dark Side of the Force. Each time they would be defeated and yet never completely. Their knowledge remained behind in many forms, ready to corrupt those who would stumble upon it and dare to learn.

And so it happened again. A lone and curious Jedi Knight Tyrion Sorell discovered accidentally a lost Sith holocron on his journeys and he studied it since he was fascinated by the history of the Jedi dark brethren. The device was very powerful, much more than Tyrion suspected and it's Dark Side energy corrupted the Jedi slowly, so subtly he never even saw what was going on with him. As the old saying went, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Tyrion used gained knowledge to accomplish some of his Jedi tasks and saw nothing wrong with that. So he sought more knowledge wanting to do more good. And his fate was sealed. In time he forgot his old self and caution and greedily immersed himself in the Sith lore thus becoming what he stared into for too long- a new Sith Lord was born, Darth Avariss. And Darth Avariss did as many Sith before him, he started a war to conquer the galaxy under his rule, for he believed he could rule better than some ordinary mortals. He worked long and in secret created a sect of Force sensitive followers who were seduced by his promises of power, justice and greatness. But again, the Jedi proved too numerous and too strong to be defeated and Darth Avariss was on the run.

Darth Avariss managed to evade the Jedi for some time, but one Jedi remained on his trail and they were now on this ancient planet doing battle with each other. Massive pieces of stone and metal were flung around telekinetically, lightning attacks were repelled by the Force shield and lightsabers hummed and twanged loudly whenever they clashed. Red versus azure blue cast eerie light around uncovering the fighters. One was a man in his forties, n black clothes and armour, his face snarling and his eyes yellow and crimson. He was the mighty Sith lord. His enemy was a huge hairy Wookie, Jedi Master Dewbacc whose great strength was a massive addition to his exceptional Force powers.

"Surrender now Tyrion, and the Jedi Council may show leniency." Dewbacc's translator said as the Jedi kept his guard.

Darth Avariss hissed at hearing his old name that meant nothing to him anymore. "Never! I shall win and return at a later time to prevail against the Republic and you fools. The power of the Dark Side can't be denied!"

But Avariss wasn't a fool. His enemy was sixty eight years old and still vigorous as if he was twenty. And Dewbacc was a famous swordfighter whose strength and speed were legendary, and his Force powers were great as well. Old Tyrion Sorell wouldn't stand a chance. But not Darth Avariss who possessed a great knowledge of the Sith powers. Sadly he didn't have time to master them all, but one technique jumped in his mind – it was truly his last resort. He unleashed a barrage of lightning and debris at the Wookie and retreated whilst focusing his immense hatred and anger. He rediscovered an ancient dark side power to to warp the very fabric of space and time, a way to unleash the hyperspace storm. It was a monstrous technique able to raze whole fleets of ships or cities at once. Or one could use it to fling objects across the interstellar distance, depending how good their control was. It was nearly impossible to control such things, yet at the moment Darth Avariss considered it an acceptable risk.

He nearly laughed at the sight of the blue gray vortex of energies he summoned. He was doing it! Then something caught his attention – it was a white blue shaft of energy protruding from his chest. He stared at it realizing he was mortally wounded by Dewbacc's lightsaber while said Jedi Master was rapidly retreating considering his ever shrinking figure in the distance.

Avariss had only enough time to swear loudly as the vortex descended and collapsed causing a massive explosion that was visible for kilometres around. Avariss's last thought was that at least his killer would die with him and it didn't make him as happy as he would have liked.

Ten minutes after the explosion, a large pile of rubble exploded and bleeding Master Dewbacc crawled out coughing and roaring happily. He managed to jump in a large hole and cover it with much debris to protect himself from the blastwave and his Force shielding helped too. He patted his dirty fur and begun to trek towards his ship. He sighed, he lost his lightsaber. It would be difficult to make another that was as good.

Several kilometres from Konoha, a blinding flash of light pulsed and died too quickly to be seen by anybody. Something dropped on the grassy ground. It was a corpse, blackened and misshapen giving an impression that something fried it and then stepped on it for fun. It wasn't impossible in the world of ninja, not with all those jutsus and summons. But to the former inhabitant of said corpse it wasn't known and he didn't really care. Darth Avariss's invisible spirit hovered over his charred flesh marveling at the fact that he somehow survived the blast and the lightsaber stabbing. But he had no time to think, his spirit needed a place of power to nourish it's preternatural existence and so he cast his mind around to sense the Force.

To his luck he found it only a short distance away, a small settlement of humans and there was a lot of hate and fear there. Also, he could sense a dark, malicious presence there, a focal point that might suit his needs. He flew across the eddies of the Force, which was somehow different here, but not enough to matter to him.

He was quick to notice a strange barrier around the village, it held some presence in the Force but not enough to stop him or even react to his presence. He focused his senses and flew across the primitive settlement only to find a lone human child of six years. It was strange how dual the boy's presence was. He was sad and lonely, yet in him Darth Avariss sensed a massive hate and destructive instinct. The blond boy was also quite strong in the Force, his mind was naturally blocking out his hate and anger. Darth Avariss saw a great potential here so he studied the boy closer. He saw it then, a flash of the strangest image he ever encountered. There was a massive energy based entity within the child, a prisoner who was actually a source of the massive hate he sensed. He licked his non material lips and dived within the boy who shuddered at the sudden cold in his stomach.

Darth Avariss was surprised to find himself in front of the huge cage with some strange symbols on it. Then two large eyes appeared within the cage and they blasted Avariss with massive dose of angry killing intent. Avariss just stood there and took it without blinking. He waved his hand and the feeling subsided.

-WHO ARE YOU INTRUDER?-The voice shook the chamber. Darth Avariss wasn't impressed, but he chose to be careful and be polite.

"I am Darth Avariss, the Dark lord of the Sith! Forgive me on my intrusion but I was curious about your presence within the child that caught my attention. I wasn't aware it was possible for something so vast and powerful to exist within a human."

Kyuubi no Kitsune blinked at the apparently dead human, who somehow appeared inside the seal and was able to talk to him even though he obviously didn't speak human tongue. He sensed an opportunity here and chose to restrain his impulse to blast the spirit away.

-YOU SPEAK WELL FOR THE ONE WHO DIED! I AM MIGHTY KYUUBI, THE NINE TAILED FOX. I CAN CAUSE MOUNTAINS TO CRUMBLE, SEAS TO RISE AND STORMS TO WREAK HAVOC AND DESTRUCTION. I AM IMMORTAL.-

" I see, well I'm honored Kyuubi."

-CEASE THE HUMAN PRATTLE, LET US HEAR WHAT IS YOUR INTEREST WITH MY HOST?- Kyuubi growled narrowing his eyes. He was very possessive of his container as he was already preparing it to serve his purpose.

Darth Avariss grinned evilly. "Oh nothing much, I thought to possess him and take his body as mine, but then you are here and his mind is already pretty powerful. But I need a nexus of hate and anger to latch onto to survive somehow. I'd like to stay with you and survive. In turn I will help your host to become so powerful that no one will be able to stand in his path and survive. In doing it, I sense you would gain your revenge. Am I right?"

Kyuubi growled as he thought about it. The spirit was in his domain, at his mercy and it was offering to train his host to become powerful. Maybe strong enough to kill that filthy Uchiha?

-WHAT POWERS CAN YOU TEACH TO MY HOST? I HAVE A STRONG ENEMY, SOMEONE WITH CHAKRA EVEN MORE EVIL THAN MINE.-

Darth Avariss shrugged. "In theory he could learn to do anything he wants to, if he has the strength and patience. He will be able to see future, past and present. He will learn to move things with his mind, to create illusions that seem real. In time he will be able to kill with just a thought and much, much more. He is strong in the Force, more than I was when I was just a Jedi."

Kyuubi liked what he heard, but this spirit was obviously evil, maybe even more so than that Uchiha. But for now, it was weak and in his power. And if his host became so strong, well that was good, and very bad for the Uchiha vermin!

-YOU MAY STAY SPIRIT! AND TEACH MY HOST TO BE STRONG.-

Darth Avariss bowed and grinned in response. "Oh I will make him strong, there is no doubt about that."

-GOOD, I NORMALLY DON'T LIKE HUMANS AND I WOULDN'T CARE AT ALL IF YOU POSSESSED THIS ONE. BUT SINCE HE IS MY HOST I CAN'T ALLOW THAT. SO MARK MY WORDS O DEAD ONE! IF YOU DO TRY TO TRICK ME OR MY HOST THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!" Kyuubi said while exuding a mssive killing intent that made the boy who contained both entities shiver violently.

" I understand you perfectly Kyuubi," Darth Avariss said with smirk. "I will keep my word and do my best to make your host strong. And I will not posses him."

With that being cleared, Avariss faded from the cage and found himself staring at the blond child who gazed at the moon with longing and sadness that made Avariss sick. He had grown numb to such feelings and considered them weaknesses. He focused on the boy and his thoughts and he smiled cruelly at what he saw there. His name was Uzumaki Naruto and he was hated by everyone in Konoha for no apparent reason, and he had no friends except for the old leader of the village. He hated being bullied by older kids and he hated being ignored and alone. But he couldn't do anything to change that, so he was just sad and lonely, yet the hope still lingered in his heart. Someday, he would be famous and respected, like Hokage was!

Darth Avariss chuckled, this boy was perfect candidate for becoming his apprentice! He focused his energy and the boy gaped at his presence. He sent waves of calm and controlled the boy's reactions.

"Relax boy, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Wh..what are you?" Naruto said feeling very afraid. He heard many scary ghost tales.

"I'm a spirit sent to help you Naruto."

Naruto panicked. It was a ghost!

"I said I'm here to help you boy!" Darth Avariss growled. "So stop being scaredy cat and talk to me. Or I'm never returning."

Naruto grew scared he would lose this one being who acknowledged his existence. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised. Please, don't go!"

"All right, relax I won't go away. Tell me, are you happy?"

Naruto grew sad again and shook his head.

"You're alone and nobody likes you, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"And would you like to change that?"

Naruto nodded vigorously again, not trusting himself to speak.

" How?"

"I dunno, I guess I wanna be strong and wise like the old man. He is the Hokage and everyone likes him!"

"Ah, so you want to be strong and respected. I can help you with that, but it won't be easy or fast."

"I'm not afraid of hard work." Naruto stated staring at the spirit hard for the first time. His eyes grew steely, determined. There was power in his voice now. Darth Avariss nodded in satisfaction. This one was not afraid.

"Then I shall take you as my apprentice Naruto. " Avariss said and showed to Naruto his black clad form and his glowing yellow red eyes. Naruto didn't blink, Konoha was full of red eyed freaky ninja.

"I accept!" Naruto said and Avariss laughed sending shivers down Naruto's back.

"Welcome to the Sith Order Naruto. I will be your Master , call me Master Avariss."

And in distance one masked man stood up as the rain showered his black cloaked form. He was suddenly very worried about something. But the moment passed and he focused on his next destination, Konoha. He had a student to educate on finer points of the genjutsu casting with the Sharingan. He was a promising one, but not exactly in the way he expected. Perhaps his brother would be worth watching as well. He vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

Seven years passed since Naruto met his Master. Darth Avariss kept his word and taught the boy great many things about the Force, especially about the Dark Side and Naruto absorbed those lessons like a sponge. By the time he was enrolled at the academy for ninjas Naruto was a different person. He wasn't a cheery idiot with loud voice and clothes that begged for their wearer's death. No, he was silent and attentive, he didn't attract attention and he didn't really try to make any friends over years of his attendance. Most of the kids ignored him anyway or shied away from him because their parents told them he was bad. Naruto was fine with that, he had better things to do than making meaningless friendships.

He learned all he could about being ninja. Those lessons only reinforced what he learned from his disembodied Master. The deception was key to victory, to survival and that one had to do all he can to survive in the harsh world of ninja. He mastered his emotions first under Darth Avariss, mainly his fear. It was the first and most important part of being a Force user be it Jedi or Sith. Later he learned to see without his eyes, to hear without his ears and finally he mastered the art of sensing the world through the Force itself and that lesson was the second most important. He would never be blind or deaf, nor he would succumb to any stupid chakra illusion which was a pale useless thing next to Force based illusions and mind bending tricks. He learned to trust the Force to guide his decisions, his moves in combat and to empower his body and mind. He learned to move things without touching them, or to sense other people's thoughts and emotions. That ability disabused him of any hope for being accepted by the village- it was a harsh and cold truth. He discovered why was he hated so much and that cemented his dislike of Konoha. He had no loyalty to the village that used him to survive Kyuubi's attack, instead he chose to use them too. It was really pragmatic, as everyone used each other anyway. Bakers made bread for others who made tools for bakers, civilians provided infrastructural support for ninjas who were protectors and fundraisers. And it was just a practical division of duties since no one could do all of it at once. The village used Naruto as their sacrifice and scapegoat, and he was going to use the village to gain power and victory over his most dangerous enemies. If he could get away with it, he would have left the village already. But he knew that other villages wouldn't be better than Konoha, so he stayed. In fact he didn't plan on staying in any village, he already decided to work for his own goals.

During his years at the academy he was very focused on training, so he trained ninja arts during the day and his Force skills during nights and mornings. He didn't need to sleep more than two or three hours a day, because of his demon's healing power and due to his Force meditations. In fact he could go for days without sleep or eating, but he chose not to overdo it. He learned how to use chakra and how to control it better with the help of the Force so he was ahead of his peers in every way. He just didn't show off. Chakra did have one unforeseen effect on Naruto, the only thing that Darth Avariss found worthy about it-it made Naruto stronger, more resistant to devastating effects that the Dark Side had on it's users, which in turn staved off or even removed mind altering effects it had on the Sith. The Dark Side required powerful emotions to be used and in turn it increased those emotions thus changing the personalities of the Sith. And that was the result of inherent weakness in all sentients who used the Force, their bodies were not as powerful as the Dark Side and it was the reason it wreaked havoc on them and their minds. Even the ordinary Jedi would feel exhausted after intense usage of the Force, that's why they trained their minds to refine their control and chaneling to improve their abilities. Same went for the Sith, but limits were there and quite hard to bypass. It seemed that Naruto had a way to endure ravages of the Dark Side.

And now he was to graduate from the academy and become a full fledged ninja of the village he detested. It was the last day when a final exam was held, it involved a show of proficiency with basic jutsus taught by the academy. It was to be the bunshin, a flimsy non corporeal illusion of the caster being multiplied. It required a fine chakra control since it didn't need much chakra to execute. Henge and kawarimi were more chakra intensive. Naruto sucked at bunshins, but he had the Force on his side and he was quite certain he would pass the exam. He watched as students were called for testing one by one, he was going to be the last due to his name. Most of his classmates were average and wouldn't make much of themselves. But some had great potential, like that Uchiha Sasuke.

Too bad he was so screwed in his head, that was going to ruin him, Naruto thought. The last Uchiha was very talented and focused, but he was also full of hate for the man who murdered his whole clan-it was his own older brother whom he idolised so much. Only to get spared as worthless of being killed by his hand. Sasuke swore to get his revenge one day and lived only for it. Naruto felt amused by such attitude, because it was shit-Sasuke didn't train like he was obsessed no matter what he believed. Naruto knew of at least one kid who would put Sasuke's determination to shame, too bad that the guy was a weird freak with green spandex obsession.

Sasuke believed he only needed his Sharingan to grow strong, and that attitude was idiotic to the extreme. The last Uchiha was surprisingly arrogant, believing he was some big shot just for being an Uchiha and the Rookie of the Year. He forgot his brother was already a jonin of high level at the same age.

"Uzumaki Naruto, come in." Iruka's voice was heard from the examination room and Naruto calmly left his seat and entered.

"Hi sensei." He said while nodding respectfully. Iruka was a tall young man with dark tan and a large scar across his nose and cheeks. He was one of the few who stopped hating Naruto and the boy respected him for that.

"All right, you know the deal. Make three clones and you pass. Start when you're ready."

Naruto nodded and formed a handseal and suddenly there were three more Narutos in the room. Iruka looked pleased and his assistant, Toji Mizuki, looked surprised and Naruto felt his anger at him. That was usual for Mizuki who was angry at everyone, even his supposedly best pal Iruka. He just hid it well. Naruto suspected Mizuki was a spy or traitor but he never saw the man do something of the sort.

"Good job Naruto!" Iruka was genuinely pleased, "you can have your headband. Congratulations."

Naruto took one of several headbands and tied it to his biceps. He grinned, he passed so easily and nobody would now how. He actually used the the Force to make an illusion of three clones and his teachers didn't understand what happened because he didn't use chakra for them. Oh he did channel chakra but it was just to cover his tracks. Easy !

"Thanks sensei, see you around."

"Sure Naruto." Iruka chuckled and watched as Naruto strutted away. He had a feeling that Naruto was going to do big things.

He walked out the academy ignoring stares and whispers of the villagers who were always worried he might do something to them with his power. He was going to, but not what they expected. Oh yes, Naruto smirked as he walked. He was going to make them realize some things, but when he deemed it appropriate not when they expected it.

He was very surprised when Mizuki came to see him at the same afternoon. When Naruto opened the door Mizuki was all smiles. Naruto saw through it and smirked inwardly, Mizuki was going to try something.

"Hey sensei, what's up?"

"Can I come in Naruto, I have something important to tell you."

"Sure." Naruto stepped aside and the treacherous sensei entered. He sat at Naruto's table and looked around. Naruto's place was very ordinary, just a small bachelor's apartment consisting of one big room and bathroom. There was a small wardrobe, one bed and small kitchen set for cooking and the fridge. Mizuki once lived in similar place.

"I'll be quick about this Naruto, I'm here to give you the real genin exam."

"What?" Naruto was surprised.

Mizuki smirked, enjoying the boy's surprise. Oh, he was going to pull this off after all.

"Did you really believe that just a simple bunshin would be enough to become a genin? "

Naruto frowned."Well, I was a bit disappointed."

"Good, because this isn't a cakewalk Naruto. Your test is a mock up of the infiltrate and steal scenario, just like you have been taught at the academy."

"What's the objective?"

"You have to infiltrate the Hokage's tower and steal a particular scroll. Dont worry you'll have a fair chance for this to work, the security is low tonight. I mean, nobody expects a fresh genin to do this for real." Mizuki explained with earnest expression. Naruto didn't fall for it, not for one second. Mizuki pulled out a small scroll. "Here are your instructions and follow them carefully. Destroy the scroll after memorizing it."

Naruto took the scroll and Mizuki stood up. He left the apartment with a insincere good luck to Naruto. Naruto read the scroll and smiled at the empty air where his Master hovered unseen to everybody but him.

"What do you think my apprentice?" Darth Avariss asked.

"It's a set up, what else?"

"Of course. What will you do?"

Naruto grinned evilly. "I'll think of something appropriate. Mizuki will get his deserved punishment one way or another."

Mizuki was cursing to himself as he was racing through the forrest towards his cottage. It was pretty far away and isolated. He chose it's location to meet Naruto after he stole the Forbidden Scroll so he could get rid of the brat without witnesses. But the kid managed to steal the Scroll without being seen and now Mizuki couldn't lay the blame on the demon brat in convincing manner. He had to kill him and get rid of his body and probably run with the Scroll immediately instead of waiting for a better time to do it unseen and unsuspected. He grinned as he saw the boy wait for him like a lamb for slaughter.

"What took you so long Mizuki sensei?" Naruto said while holding up a large scroll that was actually the most prized possession of Konoha. It contained the most powerful forbidden jutsus known to the village and only Hokages ever read them or added new ones. Naruto learned a few this evening.

Mizuki jumped down before his soon to be victim and shrugged."Sorry kiddo, I had some duties to perform before this one. You did a great job, nobody could identify the identity of the thief. Hokage sama was impressed by your skill."

"So I passed, eh?"

"With flying colors Naruto." Mizuki chuckled. "In fact, you've done so well that I've decided to be nice and tell you a secret."

"What secret?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Did you know that Sandaime passed a law when you were born? It's the one everyone knows about except for you and your generation."

"Oh, you mean about me and Kyuubi?" Naruto said with smile and shrug. Mizuki gaped in surprise, he was shocked. Naruto stared at Mizuki with amusement."I've known for a while Mizuki sensei, some people just can't keep secrets." Naruto took the secret out of the mind if some old bastard before he killed him. He made sure it looked like a brain stroke.

"You...you little bastard!" Mizuki growled. "You've been deceiving us the whole time."

"Of course I did, but don't worry. I'm not Kyuubi, but then you don't care. You tried to set me up for this theft and now I'm going to show you the meaning of pain."

"So you know my little plan, eh?" Mizuki said. "It doesn't matter, I'll kill you and hide the Scroll. They'll believe you stole it and escaped with it. I'll get it later and disappear."

"Nice, but don't you think you forgot one tiny detail in that plan?"

"What detail?" Mizuki scowled pulling out his kunai.

"What makes you so sure you'll manage to kill me?" Naruto asked as he drew his own kunai. Mizuki grinned viciously."Funny, very funny Uzumaki. I can beat dozens of you any time I want!" He lunged at Naruto who sidestepped and kicked at the back of his knee. Mizuki leapt ahead and twisted, landing face to face with Naruto again. "Nice try brat, but I'm not playing games anymore. Die!"

Mizuki blurred and flashed close to Naruto and swung quickly. Naruto dodged the blade but he received a few shallow cuts on shoulders and left cheek. Mizuki kicked at his sternum and Naruto flew back coughing blood. Mizuki appeared in front of him and grinned.

"Did you really believe you were up to my level kid? I hate you brats, you have no idea what is really out there in the real world. Goodbye demon brat!" He dashed low ready to plunge his kunai in Naruto's head, but Naruto moved impossibly fast and extended his hand sending another kunai out of his sleeve and it struck Mizuki's eye so hard it threw the traitorous chunin on his back.

"Idiot, "Naruto growled,"I had to make it look like self defense. I could have killed you in one second. Stupid chunin, thinking he was something special. Let's finish this show." Naruto created two Shadow Clones who gathered Mizuki's corpse and he took the Forbidden Scroll. It was time to face the Sandaime and convince him of his story.

"Halt in the name of Sandaime Hokage!" Someone shouted at Naruto and his clones as they were walking through the forrest near populated zone. He was on his way to Sandaime's office in Hokage's tower. It was one lone ANBU, a member of the elite force directly answerable to Hokage. They were the best in the village who performed on regular basis missions of the highest importance and risk-in short they were black ops who did whatever was asked of identities were kept secret for plausible deniability and to protect them later on when they quit. To make the clear picture of their job it was enough to say that they were Hokage's personal geenies in the lamp. He would say this or that had to be done and they would go at it until it was done. No matter the risk or their survival. Every village had their version of such elite organisations. And the members were utterly loyal to their Kage. Naruto probed this one with the Force and relaxed-he wasn't one of Danzo's ROOT agents.

Danzo, fully named Shimura Danzo, was a powerful figure in Konoha's military and political structure and his influence was significant. He had many backers, secret and open, who agreed with his attitude that Konoha was too soft and peaceful for a hidden village. Danzo believed in war and power as means of security and prosperity. He also disliked emotional subordinates. He was of the thought that all ninja were just tools who served their purpose and that emotion was just a weakness for them. He was willing to do anything to acomplish his goal-a powerful and prosperous Konoha with ninjas who were elites and unflinchingly loyal. During the previous war he formed and led a secret branch of ANBU, the ROOT. It's mandate was to weaken Konoha's enemies and sabotage them. Also it was supposed to be the ultimate weapon with suicidally loyal agents. Near the end of the last war Konoha was winning and Danzo's project was officially terminated. But just on the surface, because Danzo managed to keep his agents active but in secret, totally off the record and he spread his network slowly. He commanded his own private section of ANBU who were mixed with regular ANBU and he was using them as he saw fit. And that included sending them on unsanctioned missions against any perceived threat to Konoha. In his years at the head of the ROOT division Danzo has managed to stop many conflicts and threats, in fact he was keeping the balance of forces in the world. He operated thinking that his aged former friend Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage, was unaware of all that. It was a lie-Sarutobi knew that his old friend was running his ROOT corps around under his nose, but he chose to let him get away with it as long as he was keeping low profile and didn't try to betray the village.

Naruto knew all these things because his Master liked to snoop around and observe the village when he wasn't teaching him. Darth Avariss was the perfect spy. And Naruto knew identities of ROOT agents by simply searching for their loyalty seals drawn on their tongues. Danzo gave them to every ROOT member so they couldn't talk about ROOT or him no matter how much they wanted to.

"Anbu san, I have the Scroll. I was going to return it to the old man Hokage." Naruto explained when the masked ninja landed in front of him. His mask was polished wood and ceramic melded together forming a very resistant material. It was owl shaped, so his code name was Owl probably.

"And what's with the corpse of the chunin? If I'm not mistaken he is one of the academy teachers." Owl said still suspicious. Naruto nodded and started to send waves of 'trust' through the Force to calm him down.

"That's right Anbu san, he is Toji Mizuki, my former instructor at the academy. He was the one who told me to steal the Scroll and showed me exactly how to bypass the security systems around it. He tried to kill me when he came to meet me at his cottage. I had to defend myself."

"You stole the Scroll? Why did you listen to that suggestion from him?"

"He said it was the real genin exam and I had no reason to suspect he was lying. I mean, it was kinda easy to pass the one we had that day." Naruto explained. "There was no real exam, wasn't it?"

"There is one actually, but that is given by your future jounin sensei. All right, I believe you Uzumaki. I'm taking you straight to the Hokage via shunshin no jutsu. I think you should not be seen tonight by anyone but me or my colleagues. Wait until my team arrives to take Mizuki's body."

Fifteen minutes later, Naruto was in Sarutobi's office with Owl. Sandaime took the Scroll from Naruto and set it down next to his chair.

"Thank you Owl, you may leave." Sandaime said and the Anbu agent disappeared through the floor via some 'sinking through stone' jutsu.

"I'm in trouble old man, aren't I?"Naruto said as he stood in front of the only man he respected genuinely. Sarutobi was the only person he remembered that was always kind to him. In the last few years their contacts were less frequent but it was necessary. The old man was always busy and Naruto had his own training to do. But he always got his birthday presents from the aged leader which meant a lot to him despite everything he believed about Konoha.

"I don't think so Naruto." Sandaime smiled as he lit his trusted old pipe. "You did return the Scroll after all, and that proves you were just set up by Mizuki. Don't worry, my men will confirm your words."

"I shouldn't have trusted him, he was always weird."

"How?"

"He was always smiling and good natured with everyone. But that's why I suspected him. I mean he was even nice to me, and that was weird. Even Iruka sensei hated me at first."

"I see. So tell me what happened, all of it in order. It would give me valuable evidence for further investigation."

Naruto nodded. "Sure. Mizuki sensei came today after the exam to my place and told me that there was the real exam. He gave me the scroll with instructions how to get it without being seen and how to disarm those security seals around it. "

"Strange, " Sandaime frowned."A man of his rank couldn't have known about those seals and how to disarm them. They were my personal designs."

" I don't know how he got them,someone must've told him." Naruto said and shrugged. Sandaime on the other hand had a very good idea. "Any way we met at the cottage and he was all nice until he told me about your little law about me."

Sandaime froze for a second then sagged in the chair feeling the guilt. "So you know know of your burden."

Naruto nodded, his eyes were steel."I wasn't to happy to learn I was being hated for something I wasn't responsible in the first place. And more than that, you lied to me my whole life. Were you ever going to tell me?"

"I was, after you became chunin." It sounded weak and Naruto snorted. Sandaime sighed sadly."I'm sorry Naruto, I was just trying to give you a normal childhood. You were just a baby and no one could expect a child to be able to handle that knowledge. The law I made was to give you the chance with your generation since it was obvious that the adults were quite against you."

"It didn't work, did it?" Naruto was bitter. Well, he wasn't really but one had to keep up pretenses. Someone might find it tad strange if he took the news calmly.

"I'm sorry my boy. I tried my best but even I can't make people love someone just like that. No one can."

"I know old man, I do. It wasn't about being loved you know, I just hated being ignored and bullied for no apparent reason. They all glared at me and shunned me as soon as they saw me. Like I was disease they feared."

"In time things will be better, trust me Naruto." Sandaime said with much hope and conviction in his voice.

"Maybe, we'll see." Naruto appeared undecided but it was enough to Sandaime who smiled gently. "It will be better, just wait and see."

"Can I finish my report?I'm getting sick at your sweet mushy words." Naruto said in annoyed tone that made Sandaime chuckle."As I said, Mizuki sensei attempted to kill me and we fought. He was quite strong and fast but he made one error in his plan."

"What was it?"

Naruto grinned wide."He forgot I could read the Scroll after disabling all those seals on it. I learned Shadow Clone no jutsu and it saved my ass tonight."

"You did that in just one night?" Sandaime was shocked.

"Heh, in just an hour or two actually."

Sandaime stared at the blonde in amazement. He knew Naruto was capable but that was brilliant. To be able to master a jonin rank jutsu in just two hours, well that was on the level of genius he didn't see since Orochimaru was his student.

"Tell me Naruto, did you happen to read more than one jutsu?" Sandaime was ready to eat his hat if Naruto didn't.

"You know me too well old man. I did read several off them but most were to complicated to memorize or to even understand quickly. That's why I just memorized Exploding Clone jutsu, but there was no description of the Shadow shuriken technique. It was just mentioned there."

"I know, it's not as chakra intensive as those two you know." Sandaime said. "You did well not to mess with the rest of the jutsu, they are forbidden for a reason. Since you've shown some prudence on that matter I'll give you instructions how to perform the Shadow shuriken justsu. Is that all right?"

"That's just fine old man!" Naruto was happy.

"Tell me the rest of the story Naruto."

"Okay, as I was saying Mizuki sensei was really strong but he was caught off guard when i summoned some Shadow clones. He got me on the ground and tried to stab me in the head but one of my clones jumped him and gave me a chance to kill him first. I got him with my kunai in the eye. He was dead instantly."

"You don't seem to regret what occurred." Sandaime stated feeling half worried.

"I had my moment of freaking out in the forrest old man," Naruto stated cooly."But I don't regret saving myself. I never will. He was a traitor and he tried to kill me."

"Of course Naruto, I was just worried for your sake. It can't have been easy to discover all those things and stay calm."

"Yeah, well I stayed cool all my life and I'm not about to change now. I've got my whole life ahead, I will not waste it crying about what happened. I got to learn from my mistakes and move on."

Sarutobi nodded admiring Naruto's tenacity. That boy never cried about his life and never complained. He just went forward stubbornly refusing to back down when things became difficult, which was always in his case. It was a trait both of his parents shared.

"All right Naruto, you go home and I'll settle this matter." Sarutobi said and watched Naruto go. As soon as he was gone Owl rose from the floor like a ghost. Sarutobi stared at his agent hard. "Follow him and make sure nothing untowards happen to him, or I'll be most displeased. Report to me only if he does something strange."

"Is he still a suspect of foul play then?"

"Hardly, I'm just worried he might do something rash in his state. He just discovered the truth about Kyuubi and himself. And his teacher tried to kill him. He might seem fine for now, but he could snap any moment. But if he stays calm until dawn, he'll probably be just fine."

"Hai Hokage sama. If I may say so, he's one tough brat. "

"I thought you didn't like him." Sarutobi said in surprise.

"I don't, I'm just saying he is strong. But I still think he is just trouble waiting to happen."

"Maybe, but he is our creation Owl san and we have to bear it. Naruto is a victim here, he was never given a choice in his life."

Owl just bowed and sunk in the floor again. Sarutobi just shook his head in amusement. Owl always did that when he couldn't win an argument.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"Naruto, move out of that seat!" Sakura screeched angrily at the young Sith apprentice completely unaware of the fact she was ordering around maybe the most deadly person alive. Luckily for her Naruto wasn't offended, since something so trivial like pink haired Sasuke fangirl didn't even register on his list of people who mattered. Very few did actually. He glanced at stiff Sasuke and smirked evilly.

"Sure Haruno, I'm moving already." He drawled enjoying Sasuke's growing horror as his fangirls, the worst of them being Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura, surrounded his position in all out fight for the seat next to him.

Naruto found a new place to sit at, next to Shikamaru Nara. Shikamaru was currently not asleep, he just sat in his chair with the expression of utter boredom. Which wasn't strange, Shikamaru was so smart that everything was boring to him except sleeping, playing shogi or watching clouds.

"Wasn't that cruel Uzumaki?" he asked Naruto who was still smirking.

"Nah, the Uchiha deserves all the attention he can get, his ego can stand anything."

"Troublesome, that's what you and he are."

"Really? I'm sure you won't do a thing about it."

Shikamaru just shook his head. They both looked at Iruka who used his Big Head jutsu to scare away Sasuke's fans. Sasuke glared at Naruto promising retribution and Naruto just chuckled in turn.

"All right everyone, again I congratulate you on graduating from the academy. You are now real ninjas of this village and this isn't training anymore. Remember what you learned and you'll be fine. I expect you to do your duties with outmost dilligence and not to dishonor your village. From now on you'll be placed in teams of three under the tutelage of your jounin sensei. Team One is: Akihara Rei, Sumiru Toki..." Iruka begun droning as Sasuke's fans awaited who among them will end upon his squad. There were a lot of possibilities.

"Team Seven under jounin Hatake Kakashi: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke " Iruka winced as the little banshee screamed in victory, " and Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka paled as he was hit by a feeling of utter dread and he saw Naruto's cold stare. He swallowed a lump in his throat and continued shakily to anounce other teams. He hoped Naruto didn't consider him responsible for his placement. It was Hokage's decision in the end.

An hour passed since jonin senseis came and picked up their future students. Naruto was pretty pissed off at being placed in the same cell as Sasuke and Sakura. He didn't like them and the feeling was mutual. The only person who was happy to be on Team Seven was Sakura since it was her dream to end up together with Sasuke. Sasuke was clearly unhappy for being saddled with two burdens. Like usual he thought he was the only one who mattered and that he could do everything and everyone else was just insignificant in comparison with his Uchiha tragedy and life. Naruto was amused by his irritation caused by Sakura's fawning and hopeful attempts to gain his attention. The girl was persistent if nothing else. Finally he got fed up with them, their no-show jonin sensei and he was hungry. He started to walk away.

"What are you doing Naruto?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"I'm leaving, it's obvious our sensei isn't going to show up."

"You can't go!" She screeched.

"Watch me." Naruto waved and disappeared through the door after dropping a smoke bomb.

Sasuke and Sakura just stared in shock.

"Sasuke kun, what do we do?" Sakura asked feeling very scared. Her parents always warned her not to mix up with Naruto. He was trouble, they said. It seemed they were right.

Sasuke sat down and assumed his cool sitting pose. He knew it was cool, he practiced in front of his mirrors.

"Who cares what that moron does, as long as he doesn't get in my way."

Sasuke was so cool! Sakura blushed and smiled coyly.

Two hours later Sakura was silent and slouched in her chair. Sasuke still looked cool and so Uchiha like. They perked up as the door to their classroom slid open. A man entered. They were surprised by his appearance. He was slouched and had gravity defying silver hair. But the rest of him was covered by clothes. He wore gloves with cut of fingers, a standard jounin west over black long sleeved shirt, black pants and sandals. His face was mostly covered by the black bask and his left eye was hidden below wide headband that was slanted for that purpose. He looked weird, especially with that small red book in his left hand.

"You're Team Seven? My first impression of you...er, where's the third member of your team?"

Sakura wanted to die of shame. Her first meeting with sensei was ruined! He was sure to be mad at them for letting Naruto go. Sasuke on the other hand just scowled before deigning to explain what happened.

"He left some time ago, he was convinced you wouldn't come."

"Huh?" Kakashi was surprised. It was the first time that someone decided not to wait on him. That was different. Then he watched with mild amusement as his students to be fidgeted slightly as he was thinking. It gave him an idea, he was genius!

"All right, I suppose it has to be this way. I'm going to give you a test to see if you're worthy of being my students."

"What?" Sakura asked in shock, much to Kakashi's amusement..

"Did you really think that to be genin you only had to make some bunshin?"

Both genin frowned realizing what was being said. The academy was just checking out their grasp on basics of being ninja obviously. Kakashi chuckled loudly as he saw them make the connection.

"You see, only we jounin senseis can decide if one is fit to be a ninja. Since your third man is gone and you can't become my students without him this is your test-find Uzumaki Naruto, make sure he is with you two on top of this building in three hours. I don't care how, but all three of you must be there within three hours or you fail my test and can go back to the academy for another year of test begins now!"

He chuckled as they tore out of the room and slowly went to the roof. This was great, he was getting rid of another team of annoying kids.

Sasuke and Sakura were already on one of the numerous roofs of the village trying to spot Naruto. Sasuke was fairly pissed at the blonde kid. Who was he to stand in his way ?

In all honesty Sasuke didn't know a thing about Naruto. Oh they did know each other, but nothing beyond casual contacts during their classes. To Sasuke Naruto was just another run of the mill clanless kid who wouldn't amount to much as ninja. While he was the last Uchiha, one of the elite who were born and bred for this. He had to become a genin, he needed to learn all things to advance in ranks and power so he could achieve his true goal-to kill that man! And Naruto was jeopardizing that, which was unforgivable.

"Where is he?" Sasuke muttered and Sakura heard it.

"He could be anywhere Sasuke kun. But I know he likes to eat at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. Maybe we can gather more information there?"

"Hn, it's worth a try." Sasuke agreed after thinking about it. "Let's go."

They were at the stand ten minutes later. It was just another food stand like many others in Konoha, but the Ichiraku's was known for it's good ramen so it was always busy. The owner was a man in his late forties or early fifties, wearing white cook's clothing and he had two helpers and his daughter who was the waitress when she didn't cook. There were two older ninjas who ate their food quickly and vanished after paying for it.

"Welcome to the Ichiraku's, my name is Ayame. What can I get you?" Ichiraku's daughter said with warm smile. She was fifteen and already a beautiful girl with light bron hair.

"We'd like to know where can we find Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke said preferring to be direct.

"Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked in surprise. "Why?"

Sakura smiled hesitatingly. "Well, our sensei wants us to find him. It's just a test for us, Naruto is our teammate."

"Oh, I see. Well you could try at his home. He lives in the apartment in the Ichioyi sector. You know it?" Ichioyi was one of those poorer districts in Konoha, and a lot of ninjas who were single lived there. It was cheap, simple but not safe. Many regular civilians tended to avoid the zone since hardier elements of society gravitated there. It was normal for any civilized settlement to have 'bad zones'.

"We do, do you know any other places?" Sasuke asked.

"Not really, " Ayame smiled apologetically bowing to the Uchiha."I'm afraid Naruto kun is very private person. He likes to eat here, but he doesn't come as often as he used to. He's had a hard life so he doesn't trust people like he used to."

Sakura was curious now. "I can't imagine him as a different person Ayame san. He's always so..."

"Detached." Sasuke finished for her. That was the best way to describe Naruto. Oh, he smiled at times and made jokes, did his homework and studying, just like everyone else. But he always seemed untroubled by anything, even by some teachers who openly disliked him for some reason. Naruto never got angry, or insulted. He was like water, always somehow shifting around everything and staying untouched. At times when he thought about it, which was very rarely, Sasuke was creeped out by it. It reminded him somewhat of his...that man.

"I understand what you mean." Ayame said sadly."You should have seen him years ago. He was so vibrant, loud and caring. He used to wear orange, it was his favorite color in the world. He stopped when he started the academy. Now he's a shadow of his former self. I guess living alone for so long without friends or family got to him in the end."

"Is there any other place we could try?" Sakura tried to get some more information.

"I don't know, perhaps he still goes to the Hokage Mountain. He always liked to sit on Yondaime's head. Yondaime was his hero, you know."

Sasuke saw this was it concerning Naruto. He bowed politely and walked away with Sakura in tow.

"Sakura, you go and check his apartment. I'll go to the Mountain since I'm faster. We'll meet at the Hokage's Tower in thirty minutes tops."

It was fruitless. Naruto was simply gone. They tried a wide search across the village using rooftops as vantage points from which they scanned crowds and places hoping to catch the sight of Naruto's distinct blond hair. It was useless. Finally both of the genin returned to the academy and wearily walked to it's roof where their not-going -to be sensei was waiting with his face buried in that little red book. Sasuke was swearing to beat Naruto to the death. Sakura was reisgned to her fate.

Kakashi smiled to himself as he saw those two walk in front of him. "Well, you're back. Let's see...in ten minutes you and I will part our ways."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi and Sakura fell on her ass in djection. There goes her future with Sasuke kun!

"Hey, what's going on?" Naruto's voice echoed around the trio and Kakshi swore inwardly. So close to another year of brat free life! Sasuke glared at Naruto but was elated because he was a genin now. Sakura moaned in relief, love was on her side.

Kakashi put his bok away resigned to his fate. He should have known when Sandaime smirked at him this morning. "Welcome to our first team meeting Uzumaki. All of you sit. Since we're officially a team let's get to know each other." When they did, Sakura asked what were they supposed to say. Kakashi suppressed another sigh. He had a teacher's pet on his team. "Just say your names, your likes and dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future. "

"You should start then sensei, " Naruto said. "We already know each other a bit."

"All right, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have likes and few dislikes and my hobbies aren't your business. My dreams...well that's not for young kids to hear, hi, hi,hi..." Kakashi finished his intro with perverted giggle. His dream was to collect every Icha Icha story and then when there were no more he would travel the world trying to reenact all those beautiful graphic scenes one at a time. Okay, maybe two at once, but no more- he was only human. Unfortunately Naruto could sense his thoughts since they were so vivid and strong. Poor young Sith had to apply tremendous mental discipline not to make a sound of disgust. He may be a Sith, but he was still a kid with little to no sex drive. The girls were still somewhat non interesting for Naruto, at least in 'that' way.

Kakashi stopped his creepy laugh and nodded at Sakura to start her introduction. "You next Pinky."

Sakura scowled at her nickname, but she obeyed. "I am Haruno Sakura and I'm twelve. I like..." She blushed while looking at Sasuke and giggled to Kakashi's sorrow. A fan girl! "My dream is to..." Another giggle, much more like Kakashi's this time. Sasuke shivered resisting the sudden urge to leave and buy an iron underwear with high level combination lock. Sakura took hold of herself. " I hate Ino - pig and Naruto!"

"Okaaay..." Kakashi drawled as if speaking to mentally unstable person. He looked at Naruto who got the hint and cleared his throat.

"Khm, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, training and being left alone. I dislike fools, hypocrites and those who think of themselves too highly. My dream is to become the best ninja I can become."

Kakashi blinked, well at least one student was remotely sane. He looked at the Uchiha boy with something akin to regret and pity. Sasuke reminded him too much of himself. Sasuke took the hint as well.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke and I don't like many things or dislike them either. I do have a dream, no an ambition-to revive my clan and kill a certain man." His voice was dark and cold, filled with determination that made Kakashi wince. Sasuke was clearly bent on revenge which wasn't good for him or anyone else.

"All right, you're all interesting individuals. We'll start doing our missions tomorrow so get a good night's sleep and meet me tomorrow at seven before the mission center. Dismissed."

Kakashi didn't wait for them to leave, he vanished immediately with a puff of smoke from his Shunshin. It looked like teleported away, but that was just an illusion. In fact the Shunshin made the user to move so fast that it seemed instantaneous. But it required lots of chakra and stamina to endure the stress of rapid movements. Also if you messed it up you could hurl yourself in the wall or some big tree and that would hurt, a lot. That's why it was jounin level jutsu.

"I have to learn that trick." Naruto said with large grin and run away leaving Sasuke to deal with his annoying groupie.

It was evening and sun just went down letting a blanket of the night to cover the village. Stars danced and twinkled in the sky and the moon shone pale silvery rays providing sufficient light for Naruto to see as it were daytime. He was on the way home after a satisfactory day. He passed an exam without even knowing about it and it made him snicker. That Kakashi guy was obviously terrified of having some kids in his care. The guy was powerful, probably one of the best in the village Naruto suspected. The old man Hokage wouldn't let just anyone take on the Uchiha and him. But he somehow doubted Kakashi's teaching skills. Just because someone knew things, it didn't mean they knew how to impart that knowledge onto others. Kakashi just seemed too weird, too relaxed to be effective disciplinarian and teacher. Maybe he was one of those 'figure it yourself' guys with their cryptic guidelines and suggestions. Naruto could live with that.

"Hey dobe! " Sasuke hissed when he emerged from the side alley looking very angry. He felt that way to žžnaruto clearly through the Force. Sasuke was livid and he wanted to take it out on Naruto. "Your stupid disappearing act today almost cost me my promotion. I want to make sure you never try that shit again. You'll do as I say and you won't stand in my way. I have important things to do and shits like you and Sakura are just burdens I don't need."

"Oo, I'm so shaking in fear of the mighty Uchiha sama !" Naruto mocked with wide happy grin. "And what can you do to me if I decide to do as I like? Sue me to sensei?"

Sasuke smiled coldly. He was so full of himself. "No, I'll just have to teach you a hard lesson about pissing off an Uchiha. We were bred to be warriors. You clanless idiots don't know a thing about being a ninja."

Naruto almost laughed in his face. Warriors? Sasuke obviously had some skewed picture of what ninjas were supposed to be. But he had just the right thing to say. "I am clanless? Strange thing to say for someone whose mighty clan was obliterated in one night like they were the weakest ninja in the whole history."

Sasuke lost it and attacked with fury that made him boil. His fists lashed and only long training and muscle memory kept his attacks coordinated and focused. Naruto found his attacks slow and he could see them before they even started. It was child's play to dodge or slap kicks and punches aside. Sasuke made one big mistake-he allowed Naruto to block his left kick with forearm and tried to use it as a leverage for his jump and right kick to he head. He was very athletic and nimble and this combo worked very well against most of his opponents at the academy. But Naruto wasn't one of them-he moved with snakelike speed and closed in on Sasuke and grabbed his neck. Sasuke choked because Naruto's hand squeezed like it was made of steel and his back exploded in pain that made him lose strength and see lights in his vision as he was slammed in the wall. He didn't even see a kick that bowled him in fetal position and the other positively bruised his ribs. Naruto kept on pounding away until Sasuke went limp. He made sure not to mark his face.

"This I hope is a lesson you won't forget Uchiha." Naruto hissed coldly at barely conscious Sasuke. "Nobody gives orders to me, especially not some asshole with delusions of grandeur. You're weak and arrogant moron who has been hearing praises about his greatness his whole life. I know of at least two more guys in our age bracket who could have done this to you even easier than me. You think you train hard? You make me laugh. I'm stronger, faster and have more stamina thany you ever will. Just because you are an Uchiha it doesn't make you anything special. Hell, it's not even sure you will awaken your bloodline. So you better stop high-nosing and take this seriously-you're not the center of the universe and your life isn't something others will care too much about. I had tough life too but you don't see me go around and think I'm better than everyone else. If you ever try to attack me again without permission or justified reason, I'll take one of your eyes. Sharingan or not. Consider yourself warned. I won't be merciful, be assured."

Sasuke could only wheeze in pain as he listened to Naruto's footsteps. He couldn't believe he was defeated so easily. That bastard had the gall to lecture him even as if he was someone lower than him. And then he just walked away...it was all just like with HIM! He was going to teach Uzumaki Naruto a lesson one of these days, nobody underestimated the power of the Uchiha blood and got away with it...


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"All right, let's see..." Sarutobi said as he started to look through his papers in search of the next mission for Team Seven. They were on duty two months already and they weren't happy – it turned out that their job was to do D rank missions, which were just glorified housekeeping jobs like babysitting, grocery shopping, painting fences and so on. As Kakashi happily explained, these D ranks were meant to improve their teamwork by letting them to know each other better. Not one of his pupils cared to do exactly that, so it wasn't really working. Naruto didn't care either way and Sasuke's pride made him loathe the blonde with passion and Sakura followed his lead like a good fan girl. Kakashi did suspect something happened between Naruto and Sasuke, considering Sasuke's pained face on their first day of being officially on duty. Sasuke just brushed him off saying he fell badly the night before. Whatever happened Sasuke wasn't willing to talk about it so Kakashi let it pass, but he did observe how his team worked. Mostly it was Sasuke who lead with his fan in tow, and Naruto seemed indifferent. He just agreed with Sasuke and smiled. Like he knew a joke and the others were victims of it. Kakashi wasn't really interested as long as he was doing his job.

One of the worst jobs for genins was to hunt down the cat named Tora. It belonged to the wife of their local lord and she was the devil incarnate. The cat would always run from her owner and it knew how to hide and run; some genin swore she could use chakra. For Team Seven it was not so, somehow Naruto would always track the beast and catch her. Tora was very obedient when Naruto was around. Nobody knew why. It was simple for him to use the Force to track the animal, seize control of her and give her orders to be nice, or else...and it worked each time. After a while Tora learned that Naruto would always find her so she stopped running so much. She was one smart cat. Better to suffer in hands of her mistress than to face the scary genin who threatened to flay her on the inside with just one look. That evil eye he gave her made her shudder at nights.

"Ah, I've found one-how about walking some dogs?" Sarutobi said knowing Naruto wasn't very liked by clients, but animals seemed to be quite tame in his presence. Maybe they sensed the Fox somehow and knew he was the boss.

Naruto pursed his lips in thoughtful manner. "I don't know old man, I heard that Team Ten was sent on their first C rank yesterday. Could we get one?"

"Naruto!" Iruka said from his position next to the aged Hokage, "Hokage sama decides when you can go on a C rank, not you. There is a good reason it is done this way. Be respectful."

"Hn, we're more than ready." Sasuke said, not because he supported Naruto. He just didn't think it was good for him to do these chores while some fat ass like Chouji got his first C rank. No way, he was an Uchiha!

"Yeah!" Sakura piped up automatically agreeing with her idol. She was really well trained that way. The years of habit coached her to agree with Sasuke without even thinking. Kakashi grimaced below his mask, that girl needed a hard dose of reality, pronto. She was the reason he was holding back two powerful genin form any serious jobs. But he saw now it was inevitable. Either Sakura would come to her senses or she would get her team killed someday unless he booted her of the team. Which was still an option.

"I think my team needs a mission better suited to their skills Hokage sama. I'd like to request a 'hunt'."

Sarutobi raised his eyebrows high, and Iruka looked a little shocked. The so called 'hunt' was a mission reserved for fresh genin to have their first taste of blood and killing. Usually it was reseved for the first generation shinobis, because those from old ninja families and clans were too well trained to falter on such a mission anyway. Sakura definitively needed to see whether she can kill or not. The 'hunt' usually involved tracking down bandits and destroying them utterly. Although the Fire Country had it's own armies and police forces, the bandit problem was rampant in less populated areas. There was too much space to cover and protect. But they mostly did manage to reduce the problem. And some cases were always left for Fire's ninjas to deal with, just for this purpose.

Sarutobi saw Kakashi glance at Sakura and understood his problem. The girl was visibly weak, with her too thin frame and non developed musculature. She was very smart, but that was useless without practical experience. Tsunade of that age was quite different, but she was the granddaughter of the greatest ninja of modern age. Haruno Sakura was a civilian with low chakra level, without proper mental attitude and what not. He was in agreement with young Hatake-the girl had to show spine or she was going to be dropped form the corps. So he took a special scroll and handed it to Kakashi.

"Here it is Kakashi, and good luck."

"Was that really necessary Hokage sama?" Iruka asked when Team Seven was gone. He was reluctant to spoil their youth.

"I'm afraid so Iruka, young Haruno is showing a disturbing lack of fortitude. This is her final chance."

"I see," Iruka bowed his head in shame. She was his student and therefore his mistake.

"No need to do that Iruka, nobody questions your teaching skills. You've done your best and sometimes it just isn't enough. Trust me, I know." Sarutobi said with gentle smile to Iruka who bowed again. "Arigato Hokage sama."

Team Seven was crouched in the darkness while observing their targets. The bandit camp was set about eight hundred meters away at the bottom of the small valley between high hills. Team Seven was tracking them for the last three days through the wilderness. Kakashi taught them a lot of tracking tricks, many of which weren't taught at the academy. Like how to tell if the prey moved fast or slow, how much weight caused such and such tracks which in turn told them if the target was male or female, or if he was armoured and so on. There were about thirty heavily armed bandits in the camp and they were smart. In distance several fires were glowing which meant widespread formation to avoid being caught en masse. Also it made difficult to count their exact number.

Kakashi evaluated the situation and already sighted the best way to deal with these vermin. But this was a mission to let his pupils show what they were made of. "Any thoughts?"

Sasuke shrugged. "There's about thirty thugs. We can take them. But the horses are problem, they have to be dealt with beforehand. We don't want to let them escape."

Kakashi nodded, Sasuke was right on point. He eyed Naruto who looked just as unconcerned as Sasuke. Sakura looked nervous. She really wasn't expecting to start killing so soon. Kakashi sighed internally, he felt sorry for the girl but it had to be done. Kami forgive him, but this was it-the girl joined ninja corps of Konoha for wrong reasons. Now it was time to see if she could really do what has to be done.

"So what's the plan? Come on, show me some brains you three." Kakashi egged the trio.

"We can do two things, " Naruto said. "Either we kill them in one massive assault or we make them run and pick them off one by one from ambushes. Personally I prefer the second option. It's not like we have to risk ourselves unnecessarily."

"Good idea Naruto." Kakashi said approvingly. He looked at the rest of the team. "Anyone against that?" Sasuke just hned as usual and Sakura nodded in agreement. Kakashi was pleased, they were cautious. " Okay, Naruto what's the next step after we get rid of the horses?"

"I could send a group of my clones to make them run and scatter. You guys can take your shots as you want and stay hidden as much as possible. They will run and we will follow. Sooner or later we will win by sheer stamina advantage."

"All right. You know the deal. Take care of the guards and then chase the horses away. Naruto will raise a small group of clones to start the fights and you two will kill as many bandits as possible while staying hidden. Let's go!"

Team Seven slunk off in the way where their targets sat unaware of the impending death and pain.

Sasuke crawled on his fingertips and toes , his body parallel to ground, invisible and silent as shadow. He was calm, he knew is job and was confident of his success. He already selected his targets and knew exactly what to do with them. A few well placed shuriken would suffice.

Sakura moved silentlyaround the south side of the valley until she reached the high rock from where she observed her targets- a group of three guards loosely positioned on the rocky slope below. Their job was to spot anyone trying to sneak up from south, and to prevent their horses from wandering away. Sakura swallowed spit and she felt the bile rise in her throat. She gagged slightly as her palms started to sweat, her hands shook as she prepared for the attack. Three kunai in each hand, held by the rings on their handles. They were a gift from her mother for graduating at the top of the class. Her family wasn't too keen on her chosen occupation, but they were proud to have one Haruno clan member in the ninja corps. Every clan or family considered it a mark of honor to produce another ninja for their glorious Konoha. Sakura was suddenly very much aware what this glory and honor were-blood and flesh gouged away by her thin, innocent hands and sharp eyes that were now moist. But she wasn't stupid, not when she was alone and not trying to impress Sasuke kun. This was her test-either she could do her job or not. She envied both boys on her squad-they were so calm and professional. She and Ino had a promise between each other as kunoichis-not to let boys outshine them. But most of all she didn't want to see Sasuke's sneer when he realized she wasn't strong enough...her hands clenched and relaxed, just as she was taught by Iruka sensei. She forgot about the targets and her feelings-only breathing mattered. She waited, slowly inhaling and exhaling. And when the noise started far away, her hands snapped automatically. She closed her eyes as she waited for the sign of alarm from below. Nothing came, just the sound of horses whining and galloping. She peered down and saw three shadows lying still in the grass. She struck home, just like in the academy. Funnily enough, Sakura thought only one thing at the moment-Iruka sensei would have been proud of her marksmanship. She waited for the noise to start. Soon enough, there would be more targets. Tears trickled as she drew more kunai.

Sakura's eyes were trying to catch everything in their sight as Team Seven was walking towards the office building where Onyogato's Mayor was residing. Onyogato was a mid sized city in the northwestern region of the Fire Country. It sat on the crossroads of two rivers and so it became one of more important trade spots and ports. Merchants owned much of the city and trade was good, thus the whole region prospered. But like every major city even Onyogato had it's bad side-it's prosperity attracted crime. But legal and illegal citizens coexisted just fine, there was more than enough wealth to be quietly spread between them. While regular folk took care of public and legal venues, the criminal world took care of gambling, red lights districts, massage parlours and so on. Nobody made excesses to draw the attention of the Fire's authorities. Until now. Someone had crossed the line and the Mayor had to call for discrete help. That's where Team Seven came in. In case of suspicious activity amongst Fire's officials, only loyal ninjas were trusted to investigate.

The matter was brought to Team Seven's attention via courier animal in the local city where they took pay for the finished mission. They were the closest team available. It seemed that somebody thought it would be nice to kidnap young women from streets of Onyogato so they could be sold as slaves. Not in the Fire Country where such a thing was a capital offense (not because of civilisation of the land, but simply because lords of the land couldn't ensure that people wouldn't rebel if such practice was allowed.), but somewhere else.

Kakashi led his pupils across rooftops of the city, silently and invisibly to the civilian population. They saw the mayor in his office from the adjacent building's roof. He was expecting them so he wasn't surprised when four ninjas with Konoha's headband appeared in a large cloud of smoke.

"Finally!" Mayor Ofuda Kei said with relief. He was tall, thin man with gray beard and bald skull. His skin was still smooth, despite the obvious advanced age. "I've been waiting for some time."

"Have you now?" Kakashi spoke in neutral voice.

"Yes." Ofuda nodded sharply not bothering to ask about his company. He didn't need to know the identity of Fire's ninjas. He would forget them as soon as possible if he valued his career and position. Ninjas were sort of untouchable when it came to these matters. They were after all Fire Lord's extended arm.

"We are informed about the situation here," Kakashi explained. "We're here out of formal courtesy. And to warn you that we will be using any means available to resolve this situation."

Ofuda swallowed, he understood that morgue might be lacking storage capacity in the next few days. Oh well, it had to happen sometime. Chief mortician will have to be creative. And silent.

When Team Seven left the office, back on the rooftop they came from, Kakashi eyed his students. "Well, any smart ideas?"

"Umm..." Sakura hesitated a little."We could visit some criminal hangouts to question some people for clues and rumours."

"That could take a while." Sasuke noted calmly. "Also it would alert the guilty party to our presence."

"Then we have to go with the 'bait and capture' approach." Naruto said. "We can follow these kidnappers to wherever they deliver the victims. "

"I suppose Sakura is the bait?" Kakashi asked unecessarily. Naruto smiled and Sakura shivered. But she knew she had to be the bait-she was a perfect picture of the kidnapping victim.

Naruto was right in the end. Sakura's exotic appearance caught someone's eye very soon, not even a day after she checked in at the local hotel with Naruto who played the role of her cousin. And they were good, Sakura didn't even get to scream as rough hands pulled her in the dark alley and stuffed a bag over her head. She smelled a sleeping agent and soon she was down for the count. Sakura was genuinely afraid and it showed in her brief struggle, so her captors wern't suspicious. They moved quickly through the maze that were dark streets and passages of the city, but when a nin dog was on your trail you can't shake him. And Pakkun, Kakashi's favorite tracker summon was able to follow them too easily.

Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke frowned as they watched Sakura's kidnappers use the boat to reach a large ship docked at the other end of the local harbour.

"Crap, that's a foreign boat sensei." Naruto said.

"Mhm, from the Grass Country. See the flag?" Kakashi pointed at the green flag on the tallest mast of the vessel. It was a large river boat, nearly as big as one of sea cargo ships.

"Aren't they our allies?" Sasuke asked.

"They are." Kakashi nodded. "That makes it tricky. We must bust this slave deal. Ally or not, they can't be allowed to get away with this."

"No wonder that Mayor called for the help, this is international politics." Naruto scoffed.

"Of course. We, and he, know where our citizens are , but we can't do anything legally. The ship is protected by peace treaties and it's crew decided to take advantage of that. I'm pretty certain that someone on our side started this to earn extra money. That's the only way this vessel could've passed the border without real inspection." Kakashi explained to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Are you saying we should let them go?" Sasuke scowled. He wanted blood.

"Officially, yes. I'd rather burn the ship." Kakshi said. "We'll let our spies and official people to deal with this. It's not worth starting the war"

"Too bad, because I'm pretty sure we could take the crew quickly and save Sakura. Not that she won't escape by herself." Naruto said. It was true, even Sakura could escape from non ninja captors easily enough.

"What makes you so sure?" Kakashi asked curiously.

Naruto grinned. "I know Kage Bunshin and I can make more than thirty clones."

Kakashi looked at the ship and chuckled. Yes, that was another thing entirely. "Ok, change of plans. We will swim to the ship and attach ourselves to it's hull. Use henge to blend in. When we're far from the city we attack. Kill everyone on board but the captain. I'll make sure he is alive. The rest are expendable."

As it was, the ship from the Grass moved out at dawn and soon it was going upriver, towards the Grass Country. Kakashi gave the signal three hours after the ship started it's journey, thus ensuring there would be no witnesses. Sasuke and Naruto had to keep the crew busy while Kakashi took care of the captain who was certainly the man with the right information.

Naruto moved first. He used his kunai to climb up the ship's hull and to get rid of the guard. He leapt over the rail and made a handseal to create a hundred clones. Sasuke and Kakashi didn't need to worry about stealth anymore. A giant of the sailor rushed Naruto, bellowing and waving his saber. He died with a shuriken in his brain. Another two suddenly stopped breathing because their lungs couldn't work properly with metal inside. Naruto's clones created a massive combat zone, where bewildered crewmen were defending themselves from the army of blonde boys who vanished when struck once. Still, most of them managed to kill or maim their targets which was bad for defenders-half of them were gone in five minutes.

Naruto himself weaved and dodged attacks and returned them with deadly precision. His ninja-to flashed like a silver mirage, spraying blood and limbs in it's wake. Men screamed or gurgled, depending on their injury. Naruto moved like a ghost, nothing could touch him. He was using the Force to see all around him, to predict the danger. He suddenly bent at a slight angle, letting a knife sail past his ear. A little nudge with the Force sped up the projectile and bent it's trajectory. The knife killed a man in front of Naruto who replaced himself with a newly made corpse and stabbed a guy next to him in throat. He jumped of his shoulder, made a somersault over the next guy, landed crouched and swung behind himself-he cut that man's legs and grabbed him as he fell. The man made a nice shield form the sword slash of his buddy who followed Naruto from behind. Naruto turned ,stabbed him in the belly and twisted savagely-he let his innards spill out. He used them to blind the new attacker and jump kicked at his head. He broke his neck. He turned quickly and slashed with his blade, deflecting three knifes in a single move. Two were sent to stab one of Sasuke's oponents in the back, one was flung away in the river. Naruto laughed and flashed at the trio who used those knives, they died quickly being no match to the young Sith. He paused, his clones were almost exhausted but they took care of the majority of crew. Sasuke was handling his part rather well, so Naruto went on executing the wounded and those his clones missed. He didn't miss.

Kakshi emerged with pale Sakura in tow. Naruto noticed blood spattered on their clothes. Obviously they 've dealt some death too.

"Not bad," Kakashi said as he surveyed the massacre. He took note that Naruto handled his sword rather well. Sasuke did good too.

"Did you get your man?" Naruto was interested.

Kakshi nodded, his eye made that U shape when closed. He was happy. "He was a talkative little fellow. I've gotten the necessary information on this slave business. We're done for now. Legal authorities will deal with the rest of the gang on our side of the border."

Sasuke looked around the ship. "We can burn this thing now?"

Kakashi nodded. "Go on, practice your katon jutsus. We'll wait with our kidnapees on the coast."

The return to Onyogato was a nice cool down excercise for Team Seven. The Mayor was happy to hear that there would be no kidnappings any more and he had a message for Kakashi who grimaced as he read the thing.

"What's going on sensei?" Sakura asked, now much calmer. She had to kill some men again, but this time she didn't hesitate. They were molesting some of the girls whom they saved.

"Tem Ten is in trouble." Kakashi said with cool demeanor. "Asuma san is injured. We are to help them if we can get there on time. And we will."

Sorry for not updating quickly folks, but personal matters took precedence. Also, I apologize for my grammar mistakes. My English is not the best and it is noticeable. Still, I hope you will be able to enjoy this chapter. Thanks for all the support so far, and reviews are most welcome!


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Team Seven reached the Waves in three days. They avoided being seen in case that the attacker who engaged Team Ten had help. They crossed the canal to the Waves unseen, swimming quickly and silently. And then it was a quick run through treetops, the so called 'ninja road', towards the client's home.

Tazuna the bridge builder lived in an isolated beach house made of sturdy wood. It was well built. It faced the sea, and there was a long wooden pier for boats. The house was one story affair, with large windows and obviously a lot of space. At it's back were woods that Team Seven was using to reach the house. Suddenly Kakashi stopped his trek, his students followed the suit.

"This is Hatake Kakashi, the leader of Team Seven. Show yourself." Kakashi demanded of the unseen guard. Since Asuma was injured, it could only be one of his students. Naruto already knew it was Shikamaru.

"You are our reinforcement?" Shikamaru said as he became visible in the vast array of shadows of the tree he was hiding in.

"We are, genin." Kakashi said blandly. "Report."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes, we were ambushed by the pair of chunin from the Mist village. We took care of them, with sensei's help. That's when we realized that our client was being targeted by the man called Gato. He's really rich and practically owns this country. The client is building a bridge that could break his economic monopoly here, so he decided to make him disappear."

Kakashi stared at him. "And why did you continue with this mission-as it was obviously beyond your current ability?"

Shikamaru grimaced. "I blame Ino for that. She insisted we couldn't let the guy be killed. Choji took her side this time and Asuma sensei decided that the risk was acceptable. Until we met another ninja, Zabuza of the Seven Swordsmen."

Kakshi started at that. "Zabuza the Devil? And you guys are still alive? Asuma must've fought really good."

"Who's this Zabuza person?" Sasuke asked. He wanted to fight other ninjas, not just some bandits.

"No one you'd care to meet," Kakshi answered. "He's a master swordsman from the Mist village, the best that there is at silent killing. It is said he was a monster, since he managed to kill the whole graduation class of the Mist village by himself. And he wasn't even a ninja then. Now he's a nuke nin wanted by the Mist for his attempted coup against the Mizukage. "

"He is certainly very good," Shikamaru said tensing as he remembered the man. "He used his mist jutsu to hide in it, but Asuma sensei used his wind jutsu to disperse it. But the guy was fast and strong, he almost killed sensei. Sensei managed to hurt Zabuza too, but Zabuza was saved by some masked person who falsely introduced himself as a Mist hunter nin. But he was Zabuza's backup."

"Interesting," Kakshi mused aloud. "That person must be very strong if he's with Zabuza. It's a good thing you called for backup."

"We should see how Asuma sensei is." Sakura said with worried expression.

"Yes, lead us Shikamaru. " Kakshi ordered to the boy.

The first person they encountered in the house was Ino Yamanaka who was eating something from her small bowl. There was an obvious sign of relief on her face as Team Seven entered.

"You came!" Ino jumped to her feet happily smiling. "Kakashi sensei, you're going to help us, right?"

"Of course," Kakashi said. "Where are your teammates?"

"Oh, sensei is up in the room, he is resting. Choji is with Tazuna at the bridge."

"All right." Kakshi said as he thought quickly. "Naruto, go to the bridge with Ino and assist Choji with his duty. Sasuke, join Shikamaru and guard the perimeter. Sakura, help me with the assesment of Asuma's condition."

Naruto followed Ino as she was running towards the great structure that was Tazuna's soon to be bridge. It was a massive construction of wood and metal, and a lot of people were miling about doing various jobs. But Naruto could sense from far away that they were afraid and desperate, and he knew that some of those wouldn't come back the next day.

"How bad it is here in this country Ino?" Naruto asked the fellow blonde genin.

Ino glanced at Naruto quickly, then sighed. "It's bad Uzumaki. Locals are dead scared of Gato's mercenaries, ever since he had their local hero dismembered publicly."

"He got away with that?" Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah, even the local daimyo hasn't enough power to stop the rich bastard. That's why Tazuna lied about the mission difficulty, they barely scrounged enough money for a C rank."

"I see. Shika said you were attacked by some Zabuza, a powerful Mist nin?"

Ino shuddered visibly. "Don't remind me, he was really nasty person. I almost killed myself when he used his killing intent."

Naruto smiled in a friendly way. "Heh, your first encounter with an enemy jonin. I'm not surprised that you were scared. It's only normal."

Ino smiled in turn, glad for not being mocked about it. "Eh, not gonna happen again. With your sensei around I don't think Zabuza will win next time. Shika will give him a detailed report on the encounter, and I bet your sensei will be more than ready to take him out."

"Yeah, you've got a point there." Naruto agreed.

They moved closer to the bridge and Ino led the way to Tazuna through the workers who were too busy with their job to notice two kids even if they were ninjas. Tazuna was a tall, strong fellow in late fifties, and very much in his element. He was giving orders, directing men to work there and there, he would study his schematics then correct something...he was in his world. But there was a feeling of urgency, fear and hope, all of those mixing together- Naruto knew a desperate man grabbing for the last proverbial straw. Tazuna was definitively on his last legs.

Choji suddenly showed up, serious and careful. He still looked corpulent, but it was just a part of his look. He was dangerous in his own way, all Akimichi were.

"I see our reinforcements have arrived Ino. Hi Naruto." Choji spoke attracting Tazuna's attention.

"Hey little girlie," Tazuna grinned. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm not little," Ino growled, although she didn't seem really offended. "This is Uzumaki Naruto, a fellow genin. His team has come to help guard you."

"That's great! Welcome kid, I hope your sensei will be luckier than Asuma san." Tazuna said being very sincere.

Naruto shrugged."That remains to be seen. My job is to guard you today, so do your job and we'll do ours. Is that all right?"

"Of course..." Tazuna replied, he was glad to see someone serious about his work. He turned to his workers and raised his voice. "All right men! Let's hurry, this bridge won't build itself!"

So it lasted for the whole day-Choji, Naruto and Ino carefully watched over Tazuna and his crew. Naruto studied the bridge and it's surroundings, and concluded that the attack would be a straight forward thing-either from one of the ends, or from below. Maybe explosives underneath, that would be the simplest way. He sent a few clones to check, just in case.

The return trip was spent in silence, with Choji carrying a load of fish he caught earlier. It was their dinner. This time, Naruto saw Tazuna's family-a boy of eight or nine and his mother. She was a pretty twenty something brunette, her face pale and lined with worry. She relaxed immediately as she spotted her father.

"Father, you're back. How was it today?"  
"Not bad Tsunami chan,"Tazuna grunted as he sat at the kitchen table. "My men were braver when they saw more ninjas to protect them."

Tsunami smiled. "Me too father, Kakashi san seems very knowledgeable. He gave Asuma san some medicines, and he is already feeling better."

"That's great!" Ino exclaimed and sprinted on the upper floor to see her teacher. Choji set the fish on the table and followed her. Tsunami grabbed those and smiled to Naruto with apology-she had to prepare them for cooking. Her son sullenly went with her. He eyed Naruto with suspicion.

Kakshi came downstairs and sat himself too."Yo Naruto, how was it at the bridge?"

"Not bad sensei," Naruto replied. "I think that the attack can come only from three directions-the ends of the bridge and from below. I was checking for explosives with my clones, and I'll do that every day."

Tazuna sat alarmed. "Explosives! I didn't think of that!"

"That's why you hired ninjas Tazuna san." Kakshi said with smile under his mask. "Good thinking Naruto. Asuma's kids will continue to watch the bridge, you and your team will have to and Sakura have already begun."

"I assume that you expect Zabuza to return?" Naruto asked also taking a seat at the table.

"Yes, his injuries were not that serious."

"But Asuma sensei's are."

Kakashi sighed. "Unfortunately. He won't be able to fight so soon. That's why you need to learn a new chakra control exercise."

"It's tree walking, isn't it?"

Kakashi looked at naruto in surprise."You know about it?"

"Sure, it's something I learned two years ago when I saw a genin training to walk on water. It was obvious he was using chakra in his feet to stay afloat. I took me months to figure it out, but I did. That helped me a lot."

"Two years ago..." Kakashi murmured to himself as he stared at Naruto. The boy who was more than he seemed to be every day. "That's good, you'll be protecting Tazuna in pair with Asuma's genin then."

Naruto was meditating in the small grove behind Tazuna's house. It was night, warm and moonlight cast many shadows where Naruto sat still. The Force was with him and Naruto knew the world around him intimately, as if it was an extension of his skin. Animals scurried in the dark, plants grew and people in Tazuna's house either slept or worried about the future. Kakashi was calm as ice, already preparing for the inevitable attack that would come. Asuma was weak still, and hated himself for it. Ino worried about him, she liked her teacher. Shikamaru was playing shogi with Choji, both were nervous. Sakura was also nervous, and Sasuke was filled with nervous expectation. He yearned to test himself against another ninja-his encounter against mercenaries and bandits were too easy. Also he was burning with jealousy when he discovered how Naruto already mastered basic chakra control exercises. He wanted to show his superiority. He also wanted his Sharingan to awaken, badly. To him, it was an answer for all of his troubles.

Naruto let all these thoughts and feelings wash away, he didn't want them. He focused on the Force, on it's ever fleeting currents and eddies...he seeked knowledge. It lasted a long time, his immersion, like years and decades. I came suddenly, an almost physical sensation-an image slammed in his memory, a flashback of sorts. Tazuna's daughter being taken away by some katana wielding guys...Asuma fighting them, then falling down, his wounds reopened and bleeding. Naruto opened his eyes after that powerful moment. He saw the future, a slice of it to be exact, and he knew he cold change it. But should he? He decided he would, because he didn't see why should Asuma die or Tazuna's family too. He had the power and decided to use it.

Naruto waited until Kakashi and the rest of the genin were out of his sensory range. As usual, they had a lottery of sort to decide who stays behind to watch over Tazuna's family and Asuma. Naruto used the Force to be the one to stay and no one suspected anything. He immediately went upstairs, leaving Tsunami to her own business. He entered Asuma's room, finding him lying on the floor,resting.

"Hey kid, you are on the watch today, eh?" Asuma smiled at Naruto, looking tired but there was some color in his face. He was recovering from his injuries. Although it wasn't them that weakened him so, his body was fighting off an infection. Asuma caught some germs in the lake where he fought with Zabuza.

"Yes Asuma sensei, you just rest and I'll do my job. Aren't you tired?" Naruto replied and added a heavy dose of the Force suggestion to his words. It hit Asuma slowly, there was a heaviness on his eyelids. His breathing slowed down, and soon he was asleep. Naruto released the hold on him, it wasn't so easy to charm a ninja of Asuma's caliber, but the man was weak and he took advantage of that. Naruto waited patiently in Asuma's room. They came an hour later, someone knew when the house would be the least protected. There were four of them, two were already in the house and running upstairs. The door slammed open, revealing two bloodthirsty swordsmen. Naruto didn't give them a chance-he raised his hand and made a gesture. Both men rose in the air dropping their blades, grabbing their necks-it looked as if they were being hanged by an invisible rope. Naruto twisted his palm and their necks twisted savagely with a dry snap that ended their worthless lives. Naruto moved fast, he exited the room via the window and moved silently down the roof-he sneaked upon the other two attackers. They were busy with Tsunami who was struggling, and failing to get away. Naruto jumped and landed precise hits on their necks-both men were rendered unconscious instantly.

"Thank kami Naruto san!" Tsunami croaked gratefully, her neck was bruised and she hugged her son who still looked shocked by the sudden turn of events. "They were going to kill Asuma san and you."

"As you can see, they failed. What did they want with you?" Naruto responded calmly.

"Gato wanted hostages to threaten my father in case his ninja failed."

"Interesting," Naruto commented with amused tone. "I think I will have to question these two, they knew when to attack this place. I'll take the attackers and you go somewhere to hide. There could be more coming. Do you have a safe place?"

"There's a cave, about a kilometer down the coast. I could take a boat there. But what of your sensei?" Tsunami said, already calm and ready to move.

Naruto created five Shadow Clones. "They will help you move him and will protect you as well. Go."

Naruto waited till Tsunami and her son were gone, then he gathered two surviving mercs in the back of the house. Both were tied and awake very soon.

"What the hell?" The first spoke in surprise when he realized he was tied up. He had suntanned face, moustache, and scars on his face. He noticed Naruto, his buddy and two corpses-they were unmistakably dead, with their necks bent unnaturally aside. "Kid, you better let us go..."

Naruto grinned in amusement. "Save your threats, I'm in control here. Look, your buddy is awake too."

The second merc was shorter man, with more muscles to his figure. His beady eyes blinked in surprise as he too relized his position. He lloked at his buddy. "Zori, what's going on?"

"We were caught by this runt Waraji, now shut up." Zori answered.

"No, no..." Naruto said admonishing Zori with a swift kick in the ribs. "I want you to talk. Fast. What's Gato planning today?"

"Fuck you brat!" Zori yelled. "I'm not talking. Neither will Waraji."

"Yeah!" Waraji agreed, although he didn't sound so defiant like his buddy.

"All right, I will have to convince you otherwise." Naruto said and smiled. He raised his hand with fingers spread wide. Blue white lightning arced from his fingertips and struck Zori who started to scream and jerk as thousands of volts made his body burn, spasm and feel unimaginable pain. It didn't stop, as Waraji watched in horror Zori's body soon started to smoke and stopped twitching. The smell of charred flesh hit Waraji and he emptied his bladder and almost threw up-he didn't manage because he was too scared.

"Well?" Naruto said in menacing tone and pointed his hand at Waraji. Waraji's mouth begun making confession automatically explaining how Gato planned to doublecross Zabuza and kill everyone. Also he said that Gato promised his men to loot the Waves and destroy the people who resisted him.

"Good man, you've been very useful. So I'll be nice too." Naruto said to Waraji who got his hopes up.

"You'll let me go?"

"Where did you get that idea from? I'll kill you fast." Naruto said and kicked Waraji's skull open. The brain and bone sprayed the grass. Waraji was dead before even realizing it. Naruto turned and started running, using his full abilities. He was a blur, a shadowy afterimage that made one think he imagined something passing by. The world slowed down for Naruto as he raced to intercept Gato and his forces. Waraji was helpful and told him from which direction Gato would come. Naruto run across the land and water, and soon he was about five kilometres north of the bridge. He jumped on the tree and settled with twenty Shadow Clones to support him.

Gato's group showed up soon, Naruto sensed them minutes away. They were a rowdy, loud bunch, already envisioning the bloodbath to come. Gato was a short, fat guy in an expensive suit. He looked like a typical evil bastard who liked to get what he wanted any way possible. Naruto grinned and almost laughed. Gato was at the head of his force, a clean target. He palmed one kunai and let it fly with the Force-the whole group stood in shock as their boss fell over with metal protruding between his eyes. Naruto's clones sent their shuriken flying and soon ten more men died with metal ornaments on their skulls. The herd of the mercs made a protective circle looking at the forrest surrounding the road. They realized that the attacks were coming from trees. Naruto chuckled silently and lobbed several kunai with paper tags attached to their handles-the explosions ripped apart several more men, leaving the group of fifty now at thirty members. His clones charged and jumped out of their hiding spots, and they attacked mercenaries mano a mano. Each clone was more skilled than any mercenary, that's why fifteen more men died. Naruto took his time to use the Force and send a mass of shuriken flying at his enemies, he controlled their flight and made his messengers of death avoid deflective strikes to hit the targets unerringly. Then shurikens would extract themselves from the flesh and bone to fly again, it looked as if they were alive and thirsty for blood. Naruto cast an illusion over them, making them seem to yell that they wanted blood. It was a nice touch to the whole charade, Naruto was almost laughing loud when the men started to run. He decided to let them go. After all, there were just dozen of them.

He jumped form his spot, approached Gato's corpse and took his head with his ninja-to. He placed in the bag making sure that the blood wasn't leaking anymore. He turned and run at full speed towards the bridge. The bridge was covered with thick mist-Zabuza was already at work. Naruto approached silently and climbed on top of the structure, using overhanging beams to oversee the situation. There were corpses strewn around, the workers. He sensed Kakashi fighting a powerful, cold man. It was Zabuza. Both men were hidden in the mist, but Naruto could tell where they were. He sensed Tazuna with Ino and Sakura near him. He moved away, only to find Shikamaru watching over some strange mirror dome. He was preparing a string of explosives to destroy it.

"Hey Shika, what's up?" Naruto said and Shikamaru nearly dropped his paper tags.

"Shit Uzumaki!" Shikamaru hissed, he was scared out of his mind. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came bringing gifts Shika." Naruto said and showed the content of his bag.

"Is that who I think he is?" Shikamaru asked hopefully.

"Yeah, he is. I found him on the way to here, he had a large number of mercenaries with him."

"I take it that they are no longer a factor."

"Of course they aren't," Naruto smiled. "Now shut up and let me do my magic." He peered at the dome. It was actually a bunch of ice made mirrors closely standing together and acting as a prison for Choji and Sasuke. They didn't look so good, many needles were protruding from their skin. Naruto caught a fleeting image moving between mirrors, too fast for those two to defend themselves. They should have been dead already, but the strange ninja didn't seem to enjoy their pain. In fact, Naruto could sense that _she_ was reluctant to kill them. So he decided to return the favor, he just threw Gato's head in the dome.

The fighting stopped as soon as the head rolled in, leaving a thin blood trail behind.

"What is the meaning of this?" The masked kunoichi demanded as she stared at the head from her morrors filled with her identical copies. Only one image was real her, but no one except Naruto could figure that out. Maybe Sasuke could since he had his bloodlimit active.

Naruto's Shadow clone dropped in the dome. "It's Gato's head-you surely can recognize your employer hunter-san. I'm a clone by the way."

"I see. Give me the head, I want to examine it."

"Of course. Here you go." The clone responded with friendly smile and threw the head in the air. Suddenly all of the images in mirrors held Gato's head.

"It is real. How did you get him?" Kunoichi asked.

"Oh, easy. He was on his way to the bridge and I took him out. His men are also gone. Useless bastards if you ask me, couldn't hit me at all. Even if there were fifty of them."

"You killed fifty well armed mercenaries alone?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well, not all of them-my clones did the most of the work. And some mercenaries managed to run away. What you should have asked is what was Gato doing with all these guy on the way here?"

The kunoichi was smart girl. "He...he was planing to betray Zabuza sama and myself. He wasn't going to pay us."

"Bingo! You are smart, no wonder Zabuza keeps you at his side." Naruto's clone beamed at her.

"Zabuza sama!" The masked girl yelled. "We can stop the fight. Gato is dead, the bastard was going to betray us."

"What are you talking about?" Zabuza's voice growled from the mist. It was most likely just one of his clones since he wasn't going to betray his real position to Kakashi who was proving to be a dangerous oponent.

"One of Kakshi's genin brought Gato's head to me." The girl under the mask explained. "He said Gato was on his way here with fifty men. He was planing to kill us after we did his dirty job."

"Fuck!" Zabuza cursed. "Stupid moron, I should've killed him and left this country. Now I won't get a thing."

"At least we're alive Zabuza sama." The girl said.

"Fuck," Zabuza sighed and the mist started to dissipate. "Let's hit the road and forget this shitty assignment. You can't trust no one these days."

"Huh, that means this fight is over." Kakshi said as he was revealed on the upright beam of the bridge, above Zabuza. Their clones dispersed themselves and became pools of water.

"Till the next time Copy ninja." Zabuza said and placed his large zanbato at his back. The masked kunoichi appeared next to him and both vanished in the blur of speed.

The ice mirrors shattered and melted into water too, revealing the trio of genin alive. Naruto's clone dispelled himself. Shikamaru and real Naruto went down and started to help Choji and Sasuke to extract those needles from their bodies. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and winced-his fangirls were already fussing over him.

Kakashi approached Naruto, he was littered with shallow cuts on his chest and arms. And he was glad it was all over.

"Good job Naruto. How did you know wher to find Gato?"

"There was an attempt to kidnap Tazuna's family. I took care of the attackers and one of them succumbed to my interrogation."

"My family! Are they all right?" Tazuna asked with fearful voice.

"Relax Tazuna san, I protected them." Naruto said. "They are hiding in the cave somewhere down the coast."

"I know the place. They will be safe there. Thank you kid." Tazuna bowed respectfully. He looked around and shook his head sadly."All these men, dead..."

"It couldn't be avoided." Kakashi said. "But good times are coming Tazuna san, your land is free at last, thanks to Naruto."

"How is Asuma sensei?" Shikamaru asked as he came behind Naruto.

"He's just fine, I sent him with Tazuna's family." Naruto explained.

"Good," Shikamaru said. "I owe you one."

"Just doing my job Shika, that's all. Besides I like him too. The Third would've been devastated if Asuma died."

"Yeah." The Nara boy grunted. He eyed Sasuke being besieged by Sakura and Ino and wished him all the best. He was going to need it.

And so it ended with Tazuna's bridge finally being finished, with happy people of the Waves wishing good luck to their saviours. The name of the bridge was "The Great Naruto Bridge", because someone spread the word that it was Naruto who slew Gato and his dogs. It was ironic to Kakashi and Asuma that the boy who was so infamous in his home village became so respected and famous in the foreign country.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

"So," Sarutobi stared hard at his still recovering son."Your report is pretty much clear on what happened. I'm sorry Asuma, but it doesn't look good."

"I know." Asuma replied feeling somewhat bitter. He was an experienced jonin, yet his latest assignment was a total bust. He almost died, his students as well. Thank Kami that Kakashi was close enough to bail them out of the trouble. He should've stuck with the procedure and marched straight back to Konoha. No C rank was worth the lives of his pupils, who were also clan heirs. He'd feel repercussions for a while-Akimichi Choza wasn't too happy with him at the was he thinking when he decided to go on?

Sarutobi read all these thoughts from his son's face and posture and he felt for him. But there could be no favoritism towards anyone, not even to his son. "I understand prefectly what is going on in your head Asuma and I recommend you let it go. Learn from it, but don't let it drag you down. In a retrospect, this mission wasn't totally ruined-Konoha gained a new client who will show preference towards it's ninjas. It's not a small feat. Politically we will gain a client state between us and the Water Country. And your students have gained an invaluable experience in the field, the kind that few survive to benefit from. Build upon it, use it to sharpen their teamwork and desire to better themselves."

"Yes, I was going to. But honestly, I made a deadly blunder father. We escaped by hair's width. And Naruto saved them again- Gato was a clever bastard."

"Indeed, that boy surely surprised everyone." Sarutobi smiled, he was pleased to hear how Naruto saved the day. He seemed to be a very promising ninja.

"I must admit, Naruto seems to be the most competent genin of this generation." Asuma said with conviction. "The way he took care of the mercenary force and forced Zabuza to stop fighting, it was just neat. Simple, efficient too. Brutal as well, he eliminated nearly fifty men."

"Yes, that's impressive. But I've seen better and worse, so don't worry about him." Sarutobi said calmly. "As for your punishment, that will be simple. You will have an official reprimand in your record, your team will be banned from taking a mission above C rank for three months. And you will have to give Naruto half of your pay from the next five A, B or S rank get back to your home and recover, you look like you're going to drop dead. Honestly, you should take better care of yourself."

Naruto was mildly bored. Two long months passed since the mission to the Waves and not much excitement occurred in that time. Team seven took more D ranks in Konoha to have more time for extra training, meaning Sasuke and Sakura were playing catch up game with Naruto who bested them repeatedly in every physical and chakra based exercise. Frankly, Kakashi was forced to become creative in ways to train Naruto beyond what Naruto did himself. He started to give Naruto some jutsus, much to Sasuke's displeasure. So Naruto became the designated jutsu user on the team-it was only logical considering his chakra reserves. Sasuke was pissed. Oh he tried to hide it but Kakashi wasn't blind. He explained to Sasuke that he would be able to copy those later on with ease, he just had to build up his reserves. Naruto could care less, because he learned those jutsus almost ridiculously fast. Kakashi was embarrassed to have forgotten about Shadow Clones and their memory transfer ability. Naruto smiled in memory of Sasuke and Sakura gaping at him when he mastered the water based jutsus Kakashi copied of Zabuza in one day. Even Kakashi was surprised. Naruto wasn't, the Force was a flawless guide to everything he did. It's preternatural insight served Naruto well, for he was able to feel almost instantly how the justsu worked. In a way his ability was better than Sharingan that only copied. Naruto mastered techniques with little training since he was able to feel chakra flows and predict thier effects. He realized he could develop a sense to predict a jutsu, it's range and nature given enough time and experience. Also, he discovered that chakra nature wasn't an obstacle for him-the Force made him one with everything and so was with chakra and it's five natures-Fire, Lightning,Wind, Earth and Water. Kakshi was beginning to suspect the same Naruto knew, because he gave Naruto more than just water jutsus-Naruto learned Earth Clones and Kakshi's favorite Headhunter jutsu. He gave Naruto a basic lightning jutsu called the Shock Fist. It was a nice one where the user has to imbue his fist with lightning and it sends a shock in the enemy when it struck him. Only three handseals for that fire jutsus he showed Naruto just the Grand Fireball. But that one was very versatile and generally the most known amongst Konoha ninjas of a chunin rank and above. It was Konoha's trademark in fact. But Naruto showed an unbelievable propensity for Wind-Kakashi showed him the Great Breakthrough jutsu. Naruto tore apart dozens of trees in the training ground with one blast and made a twenty metre long gouge in the ground. It was impressive. Kakashi left it at that, his repertoire was wast but he believed that Naruto didn't need more jutsus. He told Naruto to work on mastering these for various situations and left it at that. He pushed Sakura to train harder physically and luckily she listened –the Wave mission gave her a wake up jolt she needed so badly. In turn Sasuke grew even more determined to grow stronger since he had his Sharingan. He increased his efforts and Kakashi begun training him to use his bloodline, of course in private sessions to keep prying eyes away. The other reason he hid those lessons from the other two of his students – he was a little ashamed of his favoritism, because he also expanded those lessons on other things. But how could he refuse to train such an eager pupil, Obito's cousin?

Naruto was walking down the street when he heard someone yell in distance. He cast his Force sense around to see what was going on. He felt two ninja signatures, a man and a girl. And Konohamaru and his friends Udon and Moegi. Naruto knew Konohamaru a little bit, the brat was annoying and focused on defeating his grandfather, The Third Hokage, to prove his worth. It was embarrassing really , Konohamaru would try and rush his grandfather proclaiming his goal and then trip over his short legs. Naruto avoided the boy like a plague, and when he couldn't he just pretended to be nice for the Third's sake.

Naruto sneaked around the street and saw what was going on- a guy in brown suit that covered him from head to toe was holding Konohamaru by his stupid scarf in the air at his eye level. Naruto saw a paint on his face and Suna headband. The guy was a Suna genin and he was meaning business with the kid. The girl with a large fan at his side wasn't really into it, she was impatient go on her way. She was pretty, tall and blonde with brown eyes. Also very nervous on the inside.

Naruto grinned and slowly sneaked upon them, his feet made no sound. That's why the painted dude dropped Konohamaru when Naruto made himself known from behind.

"Hey what's the matter?" Naruto grinned at the two Suna genin. "Have these brats offended you somehow?"

"Mind your own business blondie, I've got it covered." The painted boy said after he got calmer. He was suspicious though, not many genin could sneak upon him and his sister.

"Come on Kankuro, " The girl scolded."Stop making a scene. We have better things to do. Remember why are we here."

"Sure Temari," Kankuro said as he eyed Konohamaru who wisely scrambled to Naruto's side. "Just a sec to punish the brat for hitting me."

"Naruto san, I wasn't watching where I was running when I hit him. It's just a misunderstanding." Konohamaru said as he hid behind the older boy who enjoyed his grandfather's confidence. He often heard his granpa talk about Naruto.

"Well, there's that Kankuro san." Naruto said to the suna genin, still smiling."It's just an accident. It's not like you were really injured. Can we forget this and move on?"

"Screw you. That kid hit me and he's gotta pay!" Kankuro growled moving his fingers sureptituously. His chakra strings latched onto Konohamaru and pulled him towards their creator. But Naruto moved and grabbed Konohamaru arresting his forward momentum.

"Stop doing that." Naruto spoke coldly blasting Kankuro with potent killing intent. "Are you trying to provoke a war?"

"What are you trying to say?" Temari asked with worry. She was intimidated, as was Kankuro This boy was able to use killing intent like Gaara.

"This kid is the grandson of our Hokage." Naruto patted Konohamaru's shoulder. "I'm sure he'd be interested to find out that some bully from foreign village tried to beat him up over nothing."

"Fuck you, I'll beat you instead." Kankuro hissed and took his package of his back.

"Kankuro!" Temari warned him, but it was too late. Naruto already made his handseal and twenty clones sprang into existence.

"You and what army?" Naruto teased. He pushed Konohamaru away and told him to run. The boy listened and his friends joined him. Kankuro seethed getting ready to attack, but suddenly stopped. Naruto turned to look above and to his left. There was a boy with dead eyes and aura of insanity standing on the tree. He was a redhead, green eyed and had a gourd on his back There was a kanji for "Love" on his left brow.

"Stop embarrassing our village Kankuro." The boy said coldly and shunshined down to stand opposite of Naruto. "Forgive us for my brother's stupidity."

"I didn't start it, that brat hit me and..." Kankuro started to complain but Gaara cut him off.

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Gaara's voice was cold as ice. Naruto sensed he was serious.

"Identify yourselves, since you're obviously foreign and unsupervised." Naruto demanded while dismissing his clones.

The redhead bowed slightly. "Of course. I'm Gaara of the Sand. These are my brother and sister, I believe you know their names."

"Indeed. You're here for chunin exams, aren't you?" Naruto knew of the upcoming event unlike his teammates. He doubted that Kakashi was going to let them participate.

"We are." Temari said now relaxed. Naruto sensed she was counting on Gaara to deal with him if the need arose. Gaara, he was an odd one-Naruto looked at him and almost laughed. He could "see" that he was a jinchuriiki like him. And batshit crazy. Oh, this was priceless! The Third would be very glad to know this.

"And you are?" Gaara looked very interested.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto smirked and turned away from them. "Good luck to you all in the exam. I heard it's dangerous." He could feel Gaara's cold stare follow him. As he turned around the corner he immediately sped off to meet Sarutobi.

"Hey old man," Naruto said to Sarutobi after he closed the door to his office. It was late in the afternoon when he managed to catch the older man alone.

"Hello Naruto. What brings you here? If it's about Konohamaru, no need I already know."

"Oh you do? Good. " Naruto smiled."That's what brought me here. After Konohamaru left I met the third member of that genin team. He is their brother, Gaara."

"I know that Naruto, they are Kazekage's children." Sarutobi spoke impatiently. He wanted Naruto to get on with it.

"Curious, and if you're so knowledgeable then you also know that Gaara is like me." Naruto said smugly.

"I take it he didn't say that." Sarutobi narrowed his eyes in thought.

"No, but I felt it somehow. Don't ask me why, must be a jinchuriiki thing."

Sarutobi nodded. "Perhaps, but what do you think of him?"

Naruto shrugged. "Not much, he's obviously powerful. His brother and sister seemed deathly terrified of him when he threatened to kill them. He is crazy, I saw it in his look."

"That's what we heard too from our spies, but we didn't know it was Kazekage's youngest child who was Shukaku's container." Sarutobi mused aloud. "What kind of a man makes his son a container and then drives him mad in his quest for power?"

"I take it you don't like the Kazekage." Naruto spoke casually. He didn't need Sarutobi's answer, his feelings were very clear despite his poker facade.

"No, not really. Now, please leave me alone. I have lot of work to do. And thank you for watching over Konohamaru today."

"No problem." Naruto grinned and saluted in joking manner before exiting the office. Sarutobi shook his head before pressing his intercom button to raise his secretary ninja. "Get me the ANBU Commander and Ibiki, immediately Ishikawa san." He didn't call for Danzo, the man already knew most likely. The presence of an unstable container called for extra security.

Team Seven was nominated to enter the chunin exam despite Naruto's expectations. Kakashi had expressed his belief in their skills-if one read between the lines it meant he was pretty sure that Naruto and Sasuke were good enough to protect Sakura and pass the exam in relatively intact state. That's why they stood in the hallway on the second floor of the Ninja Academy listening to Sasuke boasting about his wonderful genjutsu detection. At least he had complimented Sakura on it in belated attempt to encourage her. Really smooth, well it wasn't in Naruto's opinion. The duck head just had to open his mouth and boast-he failed to realize that this trick with a fake room for the exam was meant to discourage those truly inept to spare their worthless lives. Also it attracted undue attention on Team Seven and increased the number of rivals in the real test. All of that with just a few words. Sasuke was awesome. Not.

Naruto at least got the satisfaction of watching Sasuke get trounced by the green clad genin with enormous taijutsu skills. To increase Sasuke's humiliation Naruto told him that he got beaten by a person unable to use chakra externally and who was wearing at least half a ton of weight on him. That shut him up finally, all the way to the real exam room. And there were other rookie teams-Asuma's and Kurenai's.

"Look at that, now all rookies are here!" Inuzuka Kiba said grinning widely. Naruto knew he was just hiding his nervousness.

"Sasuke kun!" Ino squealed happily and leaped to hug him. Sakura pushed Sasuke aside to stop Ino's advances on her prey. Naruto shook his head sadly, fangirls were such a pest. But it was fun to watch Sasuke being pulled by them like a dolly.

"Troublesome women." Shikamaru muttered to Naruto. "You guys got roped in this too?"

"You know something I don't?" Naruto wondered idly while exchanging nods with Choji and Shino. Both genin were listening too.

"I'm not sure, but my dad said that the Hokage allowed our nominations despite Iruka sensei's objections."

"So?" Naruto asked.

"He was with Iruka at first, but yesterday he changed his mind. And here we are in this troublesome situation."

"Ha Shika you're just pissed that you have to work hard again." Kiba snorted. "I can't wait for the fun to start, I'm gonna win this."

"Hey, would you lower your tone kid," said a grey haired boy with round glasses. He looked tall, athletic and about seventeen or eighteen years old. "This is a serious thing."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I'm five years your senior and I've been attempting to pass the chunin test for seven times. I failed. Only luck and my team kept me alive. See those guys behind me? Those are the best genin from every village there is. Every single one has an ambition-to be a chunin. It's a harsh competition."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked feeling suspicious of the newcomer who was more than he seemed. He definitively was lying about something.

"My name is Yakushi Kabuto, Konoha's genin. I'm feeling generous today so I'll share my knowledge of other genin here if you like. I've had a lot of opportunity to gather information on them." The gray haired teen spoke with charm. He flourished a set of cards."I have it all on my nin info cards. All I have to do is to channel my chakra in them and the info will become visible. So, anyone curious?"

Sasuke took the bait first. "Rock Lee, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"Konoha genin?" Kabuto asked in surprise then shrugged. "All right, here it goes. Rock Lee, he's genin with one year of service. Seventy five D ranks, forty six C ranks. Not bad. No ninjutsu or genjutsu, but his taijutsu is off the scale. His sensei is Maito Gai, Konoha's premiere taijutsu fighter. His teammates are Hyuuga Neji and Higurashi Tenten. Uzumaki Naruto, hmmm..." Kabuto searched for another card."Ah, there he is. Fourty two D ranks, seven C ranks and one A rank mission. High stats on taijutsu, ninjutsu and kenjutsu. His genjutsu stands as average, although he rarely uses it. Sensei, Hatake Kakashi. Impressive."

Naruto smiled politely. "Thanks Kabuto san, care to tell me about Gaara of the Sand?"

"No problem Naruto kun," Kabuto smiled and got another card. "Here, he is from Suna. Thirty D ranks, Thirty nine C ranks and one solo B rank mission. Wow, he came back without a scratch from each mission. He's sure something else." Kabuto observed every rookie with satisfaction. "As you can see, every genin here is strong. Of course there are some new faces here, like those from the new village, the Sound. Not really powerful as it is, but you can be sure they will try to prove themselves."

That's when the trouble emerged- a trio od genin from the Sound rushed Kabuto since they heard his condescending description of their village. Kabuto dodged the attack from one of them, or it just looked so-his glasses cracked and Kabuto threw up a little and fell on his knees. He looked shocked.

Naruto narrowed his eyes for a second, then smoothed his face. He watched the genin who swung his arm at Kabuto. He was equipped with earmuffs and his arm had a metal gauntlet, Naruto noticed it despite the sleeve. The only thing that had physical ability to strike yet remain unseen was the air or the sound. Naruto betted it was the second thing, because Kabuto lost balance and puked. Sound could disturb the inner ear quite easily. But the fight was interrupted by the arrival of the examiner, a tall trenchcoat wearing guy with bandanna covering his head. His face had scars and he looked mean.

"No fights are allowed unless we say otherwise,genin!" The guy growled at the Sound trio menacingly. "Another outburst like that and you're out of the exam!"

"Sorry, we got too excited." The sound throwing genin spoke insincerely. He didn't bother to be convincing.

"I am Morino Ibiki your proctor in the first test. Get your seat numbers and shut up!" Ibiki yelled and everyone obeyed, taking the numbers by his assistants-a bunch of mean, hawk eyed chunins.

When everyone was in their place, Ibiki cleared his throat. "This exam will be a written test. But there are some rules that have to be obeyed without question! You will have nine question to answer, in your papers, while the tenth will be asked later. Now, you have exactly one hour to write your answers. No cheating, that will cost you points. If you are caught enough times you will be expelled. And your teammates can pass this exam only together! Also, very team member must answer enough questions to pass-if he doesn't he and his buddies are out! That's the second rule. The third will be announced later when the tenth question comes up. You may start now!"

Everyone was shocked with harsh rules, especially about being failed as a team. And the questions were obviously too difficult for mere genins. Well, not for Sakura and Naruto. Sakura was a very bright girl, and Naruto had the benefit of having a teacher from a society that was thousands of years ahead. Naruto had to learn the galactic level knowledge, which included hyperspace mathematics, xenobiology and molecular chemistry-and there was much more. Thank kami he had the Force-it helped him to memorize the sheer data Master Avariss was cramming in Naruto's mind. Thus Naruto easily solved simple physics questions and some others. He didn't bother to write it all, he had enough to pass. He idly started to observe the other genins-Hinata who used her bloodline to gather answers from a guy two rows ahead. Naruto scanned him idly, impressed with his knowledge-and almost laughed. He was a plant to provide the answers for those who knew how to cheat properly. Naruto realized that the test was meant to weed out those who couldn't cheat well enough. He approved, this was worth his respect. He saw Sasuke use his Sharingan to copy the writing movements of another fake genin. He noticed Shino's bugs collecting answers. Kiba's partner Akamaru was on his head, thus able to see someone's paper and tell Kiba the right answers. Soon, the elimination of those too inept started. By the time the hour was up, twelve teams were kicked out. Naruto had a feeling it wasn't over yet-Ibiki was feeling gleeful as of a sudden.

"Stop writing maggots! The test is about to end. Now is the time to answer the tenth question-but there is a new rule here. I'm giving you two options. You can refuse to take the tenth question or not-but if you do, and answer it wrong you fail. And of course your teammates fail too regardless of their answer, and regardless of your results of the written test."

"Why would we want to refuse the question then?" Someone asked what was on everyone's mind.

Ibiki grinned. "Good question brat! Well, if you refuse to answer you fail and can try again in six months somewhere else. It's your bad luck that I'm the proctor this time, eh! But if you answer and it's wrong, well then you will never be allowed to take the chunin exam again. I have it in written from your Kages that it will be enforced. So, who's staying and who's leaving? And hurry up, I'm not a patient person!" Ibiki smiled happily, his audience swallowed his speech hook, line and stick too. He loved playing with his victim's minds.

Naruto could feel it was just another trick, Ibiki's emotions were easily read. But he had to admit that the guy was devious. He just cornered every genin in the room and they started to panic like little headless chickens. The number of quitters begun to rise quickly, and Naruto was amused. He frowned when he saw Sakura hesitate, she was worried for Sasuke! Crap, she was going to quit! He slammed his palm on the table, the sound stopped everyone and they stared at Naruto who glared at Ibiki.

"Bring it on already, I'm not scared. So what if I won't be able to take this exam again, it won't stop me from training and becoming stronger. There are people out there without any official rank in ninja world, yet they are easily as strong as any Kage!"

That stopped most of the remaining genin cold and Ibiki glared at Naruto-he eyed the genin in the room who remained and realized his bluff wasn't working anymore. "Well, anyone else wants to quit?" Nobody moved. Ibiki sighed. "All right, you...passsed!"

Everybody facefaulted at that.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"All right maggots! This is the place for your second test, Training Area Forty Four, or better known as Forrest Of Death.," said the proctor for the second test. She was tall, athletic and absolutely mean in appearance and behaviour. Her name was Mitarashi Anko, special jounin. She was determined to cut the number of the chunin hopefuls in half. Anko was barely dressed under her yellowish trench coat, she looked like a prostitute, except she moved like a tiger on prowl making most of the present genin very uncomfortable.

Naruto wasn't disturbed by her behaviour, neither was the other jinchuriiki. But he carefully took note of Kabuto's hidden amusement, shared by the female Grass ninja whose signature in the Force sent strange signals to him-the presence was oddly male, yet at the same time it was female. Maybe some sort of personality/sex orientation disorder? Still, whoever he or she was, she/he was very good at concealing their true strength. And she/he was very interested in his team, more likely because of the Uchiha ass. Naruto knew it meant trouble. Suddenly he leaned aside to dodge the kunai thrown by Anko who flashed behind him with another under his chin.

"Look, look..." Anko purred as she draped herself on Naruto's back causing several older genin feel envious of the blond. "Are you finding this boring genin? Maybe poor Anko chan wasn't clear when she said you should pay attention." There was a thin line of blood now trickling down Naruto's throat and Anko licked it gleefully. "Mmm, sweet young blood-too bad, the young ones tend to die first."

Naruto used his finger to push her kunai away and shrugged. "Well, why don't you get on with the show, I'm bored already."

"Spoilsport," Anko grumbled and then turned around suddenly at the Grass kunoichi who had her thrown kunai wrapped within her elongated tongue. "Watch it genin! You could get yourself killed by sneaking up on your superiors."

"I'm sorry, your kunai grazed my hair. I got excited, but I wanted to give it back." Grass kunoichi said and offered it to Anko. Anko swiped it from her showing no disturbance at the large tongue. She pocketed the blade and returned to stand in front of them all again.

"Okay, your task is to enter this area and get another scroll from others. Remember, to pass you must complete this test with both scrolls, Heaven and Earth, with your teammates alive and within five days you have to show up at the central station that is your finishing line so to speak. Before you enter you will sign special forms that my colleagues are giving you."

"Why?" Some genin asked.

"Why, to state that Konoha or myself aren't responsible for your death or injury that will surely occur in this test!" Anko spoke gleefully and said genin plus many others paled. Sakura's nervousness shot up too, but she held her posture relatively well. She was counting on Sasuke and Naruto to watch her back. Naruto idly toyed with the idea of letting his teammates die, but cast it away – it would be too convenient in the eyes of Kakashi and other higher ups. Even Sarutobi would be suspicious.

Naruto grinned as he was sailing through the air after being thrown away by the powerful burst of some kind of wind technique. He sensed the build up of chakra before it got him-he let it hit him. He used the Force to control his flight and landed softly on the trunk of the gigantic tree, and then hopped on the other to avoid being eaten by a huge snake coiled around the tree he landed on. The oversized mouse trap eyed Naruto balefully, it didn't like it's prey escaping. Naruto sensed that the thing had chakra, and intelligence-it was a summon. And only one person summoned snakes, at least that he knew of- Orochimaru!

Orochimaru was a legendary jounin of Konoha, one of the so called Three Legendary Ninjas-The Sannin. He was once a candidate for the position of the Forth Hokage, but wasn't chosen-Sarutobi selected Namikaze Minato, who was younger but no less powerful than his favorite student. He sensed something was wrong with his student, and later he was proved right-Orochimaru became obsessed with immortality and started to experiment on people, even on fellow villagers and ninjas. The madman escaped never to return, or so was thought. Obviously he was after Sasuke's prized bloodline, Orochimaru was known for his fascination with the fabled Sharingan.

As the summoned snake asaulted again, Naruto led it around on a merry chase. The creature could never hope to catch the young Sith, it was laughable. So Naruto laughed, and played with the snake until he grew bored and used one of his clones as a decoy-the clone exploded in snakes belly, forcing it to return to it's realm. Exploding tags attached on the clone worked splendidly, and cost less chakra than an exploding clone variant.

When Naruto sneaked upon his teammates, and on Orochimaru who didn't sense his presence due to the ability of his to dampen his presence with the Force, he saw that they were absolutely terrified of the strange Grass kunoichi who easily defeated them with mere killing intent. Naruto did nothing as he watched Sasuke run with Sakura, he instead observed the snake summoning ninja as he moved effortlessly in a creepy snakelike fashion. Naruto shook his head, this guy was taking his reputation way too seriously. He scanned him with the Force directly, focusing deeply. He saw it then, the truth behind the illusion of humanity.

Orochimaru was actually somehow possessing a new body, a female ninja. Naruto was fascinated, he never expected that it was possible to do so without the Force. Yet chakra was a mental power too, and seals could accomplish almost anything in theory. Obviously Orochimaru managed to find a way to transfer himself in a new body. It was ironic, Orochimaru actually succeeded in doing what many Sith Lords failed at. Naruto was certain that his Master was going to be most annoyed that some Force blind bully with almost uncontrollable fear of death managed to find a way to cheat death.

Finally, Sasuke managed to calm himself with kunai stabbed in his leg-the pain shook him up and he angrily started to attack the older ninja as he was provoked with comment about his brother. Naruto found it utterly predictable. Sakura was standing useless, and Sasuke was running furiously with his bloodline active-it was next to useless against an S class ninja. Naruto was also amazed at Sasuke's idiocy-he should have realized that his opponent wasn't someone ordinary, and snakes were a dead giveaway-summoners were rare in the ninja world.

As Sasuke was finished with his latest attack, a wire bound Orochimaru to the tree and Sasuke used a powerful fire jutsu to incinerate him-or so he thought. Orochimaru laughed merrily, snapped the wires and walked out of the fire with just smudges on his skin and clothes which peeled away to reveal his true face, well it wasn't, but nobody had to know that. It was hardly dignified for Orochimaru to walk around as a girl.

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful Sasuke kun!" Orochimaru spoke in an excited tone, eyeing the last loyal Uchiha almost lovingly, as if he was looking at a precious art piece. He was about to gloat some more, but a sound of hands clapping stopped him.

"Bravo, genius at work is a joy to observe!" Naruto cheered excitedly, so obviously mocking Sasuke and Orochimaru. Both were called geniuses all the time.

"Oh, you live?" Orochimaru spoke in surprised fashion, yet it didn't seem to faze him at all. It was as if he was considering Naruto an insect that survived his swat. Not a threat at all.

Naruto grinned. "Nice little snake you sent me Orochimaru, we had a nice game of tag. It blew her completely out of my way."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes a little, he understood Naruto's words fully. "I see. No matter, stay out of my way child. I have no interest in insignificant brats."

"That is hardly a word that should be used to describe me, coward." Naruto was still smiling.

Orochimaru's killer intent threw Sakura and Sasuke on their knees. The Sanin was staring at Naruto icily. Naruto waved cheerfully, showing he was completely unfazed by Orochimaru's display of power. Both Sasuke and Sakura were shocked to realize Naruto wasn't affected.

"My, my," Naruto drawled, still grinning. "It seems I hit a nerve."

"You are that boy." Orochimaru suddenly realized who was this child in front of him. Of course, only a jinchuriiki could be immune to his wrath. "So, you are Uzumaki Naruto."

Both Sasuke and Sakura exchanged looks of surprise. Naruto was known to such people as legendary Sanin?

"That would be me." Naruto bowed slightly. "You don't need an introduction, your reputation precedes you, exceedingly so."

"Why, thank you so much Naruto kun." Orochimaru chuckled in amusement. "Now, I'd like to do what I came to do and I'll be on my way." He stared hungrily at Sasuke who shivered, he now knew who he was facing. He seethed for a moment, he hated being so defenseless.

"That's what I wanted to talk about Orochimaru san." Naruto interrupted the Sanin again.

"Yes?" Orochimaru spoke in low, dangerous voice. He was getting seriously annoyed with the brat. Jinchuriiki or no, he was nothing to him.

"I assume you plan to do something experimental with my teammate. I must caution you against that." Naruto spoke in a clalm, friendly manner. When Orochimaru did nothing he took that as a sign to explain himself. "You see, the first thing is that I need Sasuke alive to advance to the next stage of the exam."

Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger. Naruto was such an arrogant self serving bastard at times.

"Why should I care?" Orochimaru said half amused. He decided to hear this, now interesting person.

"Again, I assume that your 'thing' will prove dangerous to Sasuke, maybe even disabling. I'm concerned that I will not be able to cover him and my arguably barely useful female teammate. And since this place is full of others who'd love to nail Sasuke for bragging rights if nothing else, you see where I'm going. Even if he lives through your experiment, he might not survive other competitors."

Orochimaru pursed his bloodless lips in thought. He had to admit, the girl was pitiful. And his seal was a dangerous thing to apply on his chosen subjects. The blonde brat had a point, but not fully so. "And what are other reasons?"

Naruto shrugged."I think that you should also consider what his older brother might decide to do if you mess with Sasuke."

Sasuke snarled in an instant rage."Shut up! You know nothing about t..." He suddenly froze as Naruto's killing intent flooded the area, much like Orochimaru's did a few moments ago. He gasped as he saw Naruto's eyes, slitted and bloody red like Sharingan. Sakura nearly vomited as she acutely felt Naruto's anger and malice stabbing her between her eyes, like sharp needles heated up by flames.

Orochimaru raised his eyebrows at such blatant display of power from the boy who seemed so calm. He had to admit though that it was impressive. And those eyes, they were inhuman. He shuddered within himself realizing how thin line was between him and the Nine Tailed Beast. Just a shell of flesh and child's will, nothing in comparison with the fabled creature that once toppled countries just by breathing so to speak.

"And why would Itachi kun care what happens to his brother? You do know who is he?"

Naruto's killing intent faded and his eyes were again cheerfully blue. "I think that you should wonder why did he leave him alive when he got rid of his whole family first? Me, I think he had a good reason, a very good reason. After all, a maniac who can kill a whole clan, his clan, of very powerful ninjas in cold blood had to have a very strong reason to spare his weak brother."

Orochimaru found himself nodding in agreement."Indeed, I've often wondered at that myself. I knew Itachi kun since he was a mere genin, and later as he became a rogue like myself. I admit he is a powerful ninja, on my level even. But he never betrayed any hint of his motivations or attachments to his family." Then he stared at Naruto, remembering those demon eyes and some form of suspicion rose. "Perhaps you know? You are, after all that child, feared and disliked at the same time. With a good reason, hmm?"

"There are things that no one should ask Orochimaru." Naruto said coolly, his mask of deference to the older ninja fading. It was so complete that even Orochimaru found himself admiring Naruto's acting skills. This wasn't some weak, ordinary boy. But he already had his answer, a no sometimes gave away more than silence. But the saying of old mentions that silence is golden, and gold is always a sign of something being there for all to see if they cared to dig deeper.

"Interesting," Orochimaru chuckled. "And if I decide to continue with my original course you will try to stop me."

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "I certainly don't want to meet Uchiha Itachi and try to explain to him that I didn't think it was worth my skin to help Sasuke. Besides to fight you I'd have to use my special skills, and that would undoubtedly create a lot of damage and even my teammates would be in danger. By the way, are you really sure that Sasuke is the right one for your 'thing'?"

Orochimaru smiled indulgently. "I believe I am a good judge of potential child. I was a sensei too. Certainly better than most of the jounin in Konoha."

"I believe you. Still, it wouldn't hurt to see more of Sasuke's skills, right? I mean, one lousy fight against you is hardly a measuring stick. Sasuke should have a chance against other opponents to prove his worth, eh?"

"Maybe..." Orochimaru trailed off while considering possibilities. This was unfortunately a true and valid point. Uchiha Sasuke indeed made a good impression on him, but he may have been too lenient in his desire to fulfill his ambition. But he would be hard pressed to mark the child later, this was a unique chance to do it.

Who was he kidding, he was a Sanin and Konoha was once his playground. He could do it later, he just thought it was much nicer this way, to tempt the Uchiha more.

But as he considered it further, he realized that Sasuke was ripe for taking, he just had to wait. The boy wanted power, he could see it in his eyes. No, Sasuke was already his.

Also, if the threat of marking the last Uchiha disturbed Konoha's leaders and his old sensei sufficiently to distract them from his real reason for coming back...hm, he liked that too. Still, he'd love to see how strong was Kyuubi's host. If that blasted child of Kazekage's was any indicator, well that would just be lovely. He almost laughed aloud, those fools in the Sand village would get weaker, and Konoha would be weakened too. And he would have his prizes all to himself without any risks.

"Very well Naruto kun, you've made your case. I'll leave your teammate alone, for now. If only to amuse myself even more." He vanished leaving his trademark creepy chuckle echo behind.

As soon as he was certain that Orochimaru was gone, Naruto let go of the Force. He spent a great deal of his concentration trying to influence the snake summoner. He was practically oozing 'calm, friendly' aura just to make Sanin consider his words. And then to top it he had to make his suggestions more appealing and convincing than they were. It wasn't impossible to influence even strong minded individuals, contrary to popular belief, it just wasn't as easy as with weak ones. And even then, one could only make strong suggestions, that had to appear as logical, acceptable. He could never make Orochimaru do something against his interests, so he had to make it look like it was in his favor to leave Sasuke alone for now. It was a combination of fast talking, mental coercion and a good dose of Orochimaru's arrogance that let him pull this off.

"Sweet Kami, is he really gone?" Sakura gasped as she realized that the crazy man wasn't with them any more. She was eyeing the surrounding forrest in paranoia, expecting Orochimaru to jump out of shadows saying he tricked them. Somehow, the image of Orochimaru cackling like a child disturbed her the most.

"Relax, he's gone for now." Naruto said from his perching place on the tree. Sasuke stood up and glared at him.

"You went too far Uzumaki! I didn't need any protection! I can take care of my problems!"

Naruto merely smiled. "Your problems? If that guy had his way with you, you'd be screaming in pain right now and be very ill. And that would make it mine and Sakura's problem. Besides I didn't protect you, I just bought you some time to get protection."

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked.

"Don't you guys know what Orochimaru did to be cast out of Konoha? He experimeneted on villagers, it was some really nasty stuff. He is said to be obsessed with bloodlimits. I guess Sasuke is going to be one of his newest test subjects. You can be sure of this, he is going to come for Sasuke. I just managed to convince him to postpone the doctor's appointment."

Sakura paled. "That's insane! This is Konoha, one can't just waltz in and do things to our ninja."

Naruto shrugged. "You are forgetting that Orochimaru was one of us too, and damn good at his job. He was almost chosen as the next Fourth you know. Thank Kami he wasn't, or Kyuubi would've obliterated the village."

"So we just let him take Sasuke kun? We have to tell this to sensei, to the Third and then they can protect Sasuke kun!" Sakura said hotly.

"We will." Sasuke stated firmly. "But in meantime we have to complete this exam. And Uzumaki, we will talk about some things you said."

"Be my guest Sasuke kun." Naruto smiled mockingly and they moved.

**Okay, this one was a pure improvisation. I just couldn't resist changing the story here. In most fics super Naruto either chases away Orochimaru or kills him or uses some really cool moves yet Sasuke gets his cursed seal anyway. Or Naruto does, or Sakura. And many other variations. But somebody gets cursed anyway. I wanted to make this a little , Sasuke will get the seal later. I just have to think of how when and where. Maybe I'll even make it funny.**

**Review! Ask questions, make me think of something good for the story. Next goes, matches and reports to Sandaime.**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Naruto sighed in exasperation as he watched others in the hall gape at the Third as he was explaining true purpose of the exam. It was simply a way to express the strength of ones village to prospective customers while avoiding a war. Chunin exams allowed each village to show off their ninjas who fought for their promotion, yet also for their village, to a final conclusion if necessary. Naruto understood that from the very beginning. The exam wasn't a friendly competition, but a real struggle for survival. Many genins who entered the Forrest of Death didn't make it-most of them either fell to the local wildlife or to Gaara of the Sand and his demon induced madness.

Another person appeared on the floor of the hall. He was young, but sick jounin who had a katana strapped on his back, and he interrupted Hokage's speech.

"Excuse me Hokage sama, may I take over the next part of this stage?"

Hokage nodded and vanished from the tiled floor without a word. The jounin stared at the genin blandly for a moment.

"My name is Gekko Hayate and I'm your next proctor. As some of you may have already guessed, the last phase of this exam is about one on one combat. So far you've all shown sufficient teamwork, otherwise you wouldn't have been here.

But since there is so many of you who reached this stage, and the final round is being observed by important people with little time to spare, we will have preliminary matches to determine who amongst you will reach final matches. You will wait until your name is called, and then you can fight your opponents. The rules are simple- you fight as long as you can. That means until you surrender, or loose consciousness or die. But when I say that the match is finished , you will stop fighting at once. Or I will stop you. Is that clear? Now, is there anyone who wishes to leave before we start?"

"Excuse me proctor, I must give up." Yakushi Kabuto raised his right hand in the air looking sorry to do so. "My chakra is low, and I lost hearing in my left ear. I'm afraid I can't fight as well as I can."

"You are Yakushi Kabuto, correct?" Hayate consulted his paper and nodded. "Indeed you are, what a bad luck you have. All rigt, you can leave." When Kabuto left Hayate asked for others but no one said anything. "All right, everybody on the balcony. The electronic board will show your names in a random fashion, and then you fight."

Naruto followed his teammates who went up to join Kakashi on the balcony, and he followed Kabuto's retreat. The fake genin was a liar, a good one. But he couldn't hide anything from the Force sensitive like Naruto. Kabuto was no mere genin, more like he was a well trained spy. Most likely Orochimaru's, since he had shown an unhealthy interest in Sasuke. Also he had a strong emotional reaction when he saw Sasuke uninjured, and able to use chakra. His thoughts were clear in that moment to Naruto, he caught two words..._cursed seal_. It was too much of a coincidence when combined with his well hidden lack of fear in the forrest, his ability to gather information and how well meaning he appeared to be. Naruto had to restrain himself from choking Kabuto to the death with a Force grip, he somehow doubted he could explain that to his annoying teammates who took so long to figure out what the hell those Heaven and Earth scrolls were for.

The electronic boards started to roll, and Naruto decided to play with them a little. He reached with the Force and pushed at their mechanisms to confuse their systems, thus altering pairs of combatants from what was meant to be. The first pair was Aburame Shino against Akado Yoroi. Both genin stepped down to the arena below and faced each other.

"First match, Aburame Shino versus Akado Yoroi, begin!" Hayate anounced and vanished from the floor.

Shino simply stood in his place as Yoroi rushed at him. His move was to grab the rookie, and to his surprise he did and grinned. "Ha, you're mine kid! My chakra draining technique will finish you off."

"How curious Yoroi san that you would use such a technique on myself." Shino said calmly not showing any pain or fear. Instead he grabbed Yoroi with both hands and a swarm of insects rushed out of his wide sleeves to latch on the immobilised Yoroi. Yoroi tried to disengage from Shino, his chakra sucking technique shut down, but it was impossible. Shino moved closer and more insects poured out from his coat and enveloped Yoroi like a living, buzzing second skin. Soon Yoroi stopped struggling and Shino released the wrestling hold he had on him, and his insects retreated under his coat. Hayate anounced his victory and medic nins rushed Yoroi's unconscious form out.

"What's so funny sensei?" Sakura asked Kakashi who was chuckling in amusement.

"Oh, I was just marveling at that genin's lack of information. To attack an Aburame nin with chakra draining jutsu, it's funny."

"Why? Because of Shino's bugs? They were creepy." Sakura commented. "I mean we all know he has them inside his body, but I never imagined so many."

"Eactly, close combat with an Aburame clansman is a foolish thing in most cases. Their bugs are widely known to be able to suck ones whole chakra in a minute or so. Even a few seconds are sufficient to loose a large supply of chakra. This Yoroi fellow surely chose a wrong way to attack Shino. You don't drain the Aburame ninja, he does that to you. If you three face Shino later, I recommend you stay away from him." Kakashi explained and started to read his orange covered smut again.

Naruto played with boards again and smiled. This time it was Sakura's turn to fight. With Hyuuga Neji.

Sakura squared her face into a brave facade, but Neji just smirked cruelly as she stood in front of him.

"Haruno Sakura versus Hyuuga Neji, begin!" The proctor said and vanished leaving Neji to stare coldly at Sakura.

Neji surprised everyone as he turned his back on the pink haired girl. "Hmph, you're so weak you aren't even worth the effort."

Sakura's face contorted with anger. Naruto smiled-despite her polite and meek demeanor, Sakura had serious anger issues. Oh, she was scared easily and weak, but that only fuelled her anger that often erupted within her. Her violent escapades against fellow genins in the academy were clear examples of her violent tendencies-many a boy suffered her wrath fuelled jaw-breaking punches. But it was a fact she only attacked those she perceived as 'safe', and not many were. Often she had to suppress her true feelings when faced with older and superior people and her polite ass-kissing persona became her true self. But that anger never left her and she practically had another Sakura within herself- brash, honest and punch loving. Naruto saw this happen over the years, and was always fascinated with such a development.

He 'pushed' on her rage and she reacted. She rushed at Neji's back, her face scowling. Her legs flexed and Sakura jumped in attempt to deliver a neck breaking side kick. But Neji ducked slightly, waiting for her to touch ground. His veiny pale eyes glinted victoriously as he delivered a series of quick jabs to her back. It was over in three seconds.

"As I said, you're not worth my time." Neji scoffed arrogantly as he started to walk away from Sakura who couldn't move on the floor. Medics took her with them after anouncing she was not in any danger.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked Kakashi as his Sharingan spun wildly. "It looked like he pushed chakra in her body."

"True, your eyes do you proud." Kakashi spoke quietly. Naruto sighed slightly. "That was a short example of perhaps the deadliest taijutsu in Konoha and the world, the Jyuuken. Only Hyuugas can use it for it relies heavily upon their Byakugan to see chakra coils and tenketsu. This Neji guy, he's a genius of their family. He was able to see her tenketsu clearly in combat and shut them down with his chakra delivered via his fingers. Despite looking like taps, those strikes hurt Sakura a lot. Her chakra system was disrupted and she is unable to even stand. It will take her a few days to recover. If you face him, and I think you will, don't let him hit you. Even one hit can end the match, if it lands on the right spot."

"Huh," Naruto said with a smile. "Sasuke is sure lucky to have his own dojutsu that helps to avoid being hit."

"Indeed." Kakashi nodded. " And you're quite fast too, and with your Shadow Clones you can confuse him. Both of you could beat him, but still it's really hard to fight one Hyuuga. I can't say if you two can win, he's more experienced."

"Hn." Sasuke was usually a man of few words. As it was he was the next to fight, against Yamanaka Ino.

Sasuke vaulted down on the floor and waited for Ino to come. The girl gave him a sweet smile that barely hid her trepidation-she knew Sasuke was too good.

After Hayate anounced the start of their match, Sasuke immediately launched an offensive with fast punches and kicks that forced Ino back. She managed to backflip from him, launch a few kunai to distract the Uchiha who didn't bother activating his dojutsu. He saw her do the handseal for her possession jutsu and blurred aside. Ino tried to compensate and switch her aim, but Sasuke was too fast. He launched his own shuriken, this time with active Sharingan. Ino tried to dodge but that was just a ruse. Three shurikens had wires attached on them and guided by Sasuke's deft hands and eyes they ensnared the girl tightly. Sasuke pulled hard and she was thrown forward, unable to resist. Sasuke grabbed her and placed his kunai under her chin. His face was calm, even pleased as Hayate anounced his easy victory.

"Good job Sasuke." Kakashi tapped his student on the shoulder. Naruto nodded to Sasuke who just stared at the board in expectation of the next match. He didn't have to wait too long, it was Kiba's turn against Choji. Naruto set himself for a long match. Kiba was good at taijutsu relying on his speed and ferociousness while Choji was stronger and had better defensive techniques.

"Hey Akamaru, let's get Choji right!" Kiba spoke eagerly to his white furred partner.

"I won't go down easy Kiba," Choji said with hungry smile. "Sensei promised me all the barbecue I can eat if I win!"

Up on the balcony, Yuuhi Kurenai sighed as she heard that and glared at Sarutobi Asuma who just shrugged. "Sorry Kurenai, I had to say something to motivate the kid."

Kiba attacked first, making a straight rush for Choji who half crouched and met the Inuzuka boy with his hands crossed. They clashed with a meaty thud, Choji actually slid back under the force of Kiba's assault. He made a move to smack Kiba with his massive fists, but Kiba slid aside quickly and attacked again with his sharp nails in a clawing motion. Choji dodged and rushed to overwhelm the dog like genin, only Kiba's dog partner attacked and foiled Choji's sudden rush. Choji had to jump away to avoid having his leg bitten by the white dog.

Kiba took that moment to make his body more feral with his family jutsu and a soldier pill. He was now much faster and his fangs and nails were longer. He hit Choji with his shoulder making the big boy stumble back, then he slid around and tried for a slashing assault. But Choji was strong and he managed to enlarge his arm several times- it became a massive limb that took Kiba's attack easily. With both arms now enlarged, Choji sought to grab and smash the dog and his owner. But Kiba's speed saved him and he made some distance from his opponent. He gave a red pill to Akamaru who ate it and became larger red furred dog with more powerful body and chakra.

Kiba threw several smoke grenades at Choji who disappeared from everyone's sight. Kiba's dog turned into his master and twin feral Kibas attacked with spinning motion, with Piercing Fangs, making it look like two tornadoes were moving in tandem. Soon, everyone heard loud sounds of hitting and yelling in the smoke area-it was obvious that Kiba and his dog were using their noses to target the Akimichi. But suddenly both of them flew out of the smoke and stared at a rolling ball that Choji became. It was twice as large as a man, and fast. Kiba and Akamaru tried to pierce Choji in this form, but the round spinning surface deftly deflected their attacks. But Kiba wasn't a quitter, he and Akamaru led the Akimichi around, using their agility to goad the Akimichi in reckless attack. Kiba made himself stationary and Choji thought he had him-he rolled at Kiba at full speed. Kiba vanished in the last second, becoming Akamaru, while the real Kiba pushed Choji forward into the wall. Choji smashed the wall with tremendous force, it still wasn't enough to stop him. But Kiba took advantage of Choji's confusion and jumped at him and placed his kunai under his chin. Choji visibly deflated as he knew he lost.

"Winner, Inuzuka Kiba." The proctor said and Kiba grinned toothily picking up his dog and received praise from his sensei and teammates.

Choji grumbled sadly about loosing the chance to eat at his sensei's expense, but brightened considerably when Asuma assured him he would get his free meal anyway for the good effort. Asuma looked sad at the fact that two of his genin lost their fights, but brightened considerably as he watched Shikamaru demolish the foolish girl from the Sound village in one move. Shikamaru didn't look happy in turn, he hated the fact he would have to fight again in the real final stage.

Naruto grinned wolfishly, and went down to face another Sound genin- Zaku Abumi. Zaku was dark haired mean looking boy with Sound's headband under which ran two metallic guards for his face, each for one side of his head.

"Hurry up you Konoha trash!" Zaku growled impatiently revealing his lack of patience and caution. Naruto merely took his time enjoying Zaku's arrogant ignorance.

"Uzumaki Naruto versus Zaku Abumi, begin!" Hayate said and vanished.

Zaku immediately raised his arms and sent a high pressurized burst of air at the blonde genin who merely blurred aside. The attack cracked the wall in a wide semicircle proving the strength of Zaku's attack.

Zaku chuckled evilly at Naruto who was gathering his chakra and making handseals at surprising speed. "Heh, you're just trash. Any jutsu you throw, I'll just throw it back at you and then some more! Extreme Decapitating Airwaves! Die!"

Zaku's palms glowed with gathered chakra and released a massive burst of air at the same time as Naruto unleashed his own jutsu, the Great Breakthrough. Two air waves of great power collided, sucking almost all of the air in the huge hall, and then Naruto smiled and made the same signs again adding another attack almost instantly and overpowered Zaku's attack. With a roar the winds picked up the fool and smashed his body in the opposite wall of the arena, a result of Naruto's subtle touch with Force telekinesis. Zaku's body was buried inside the stone, blood spattered the edge of the hole. He was dead.

Hayate appeared next to Zaku's lower body still sticking out of the hole and made obviously needless check on him. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto." He said in the end and medic nins rushed in to pick up Zaku's corpse.

Naruto just walked away without any care. He smirked inwardly knowing that he scared some of his possible opponents with his display of power.

"Interesting tactic Naruto." Kakashi said to him with thinly veiled interest. "Double jutsu barrage, that's unexpected. But I admit, very creative. Did you practice that?"

"Of course. You said I should try every combination with jutsus you showed me, sensei. This one doesn't require too many seals and I thought it would be good to be able to fire powerful wide area blasts in quick sequence. It took some time to figure out how to use only half of the gathered chakra for the first blast. The jutsu tends to suck all of it if you're not careful."

"Huh, simple and effective..." Kakashi was thoughtful. "You really did master your techniques. I'm glad. Why didn't you use fire?"

"I prefer wind jutsus sensei. They are easier for me, and more powerful."

"You've shown capacity for all elements if I remember correctly." Kakashi stated.

"I don't deny I can do them all, but I think it has more to do with my chakra than with my elemental alignments. If you get what I mean?" Naruto replied making Kakashi nod. Naruto was implying that Kyuubi was involved ,maybe.

"Ah, I suppose it's so. Well, we'll continue your education in ninjutsu later. Let's watch other matches."

Sasuke was hiding his annoyance-he didn't understand what was special about Naruto's chakra and Kakashi wasn't talking. He copied Naruto's move but knew also he couldn't produce so much power at once. Naruto's chakra capacity was beyond his by several levels. Still, he had his fire jutsus that trumped wind techniques. Naruto may be strong, but that wasn't all to being ninja.

"I like that brat." Anko grinned in her crazy manner next to Kurenai who was frowning at Naruto's display of power.

"You would Anko, wouldn't you?"

"What's wrong Kurenai? It was a fair fight and the brat won by sheer power and some skill. I doubt that many genins can mold chakra so fast and focused. And kid's a powerhouse."

"He just killed his opponent and walked away as if nothing happened. Is it possible that he used 'it'?"

"C'mon don't tell me you're one of those who dislike the kid too? Couldn't you tell the difference? He wasn't using anything but his own chakra. He's just that strong. And with Hatake to train him, you really shouldn't be so surprised." Anko said sharply.

"No, I don't dislike him Anko. It's just that...damn, when you and I were genin we weren't nearly as powerful as he is. He just expended enough chakra to make most genin too tired for fighting. And he's acting like he just had a nice warm up spar."

Anko chuckled understanding Kurenai's frustration. Both of them had to scrape for every bit of power they gained and it was never enough. Now here comes a brat half their age and twice their power.

"Sory Kure-chan, but that's the way in our world. I'd like his stamina too, but not his burden along with it. I have enough of my own troubles."

"I know," Kurenai said and eyed her students. "And how am I supposed to train my students to win against someone like him?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way." Anko said and focused on the next match. It was another quick one where the redheaded genin form the Sand fought another Sound genin. It was disturbingly quick. The redhead merely let his sand flow and encase his opponent who never saw such jutsu. The sand moved like a massive hand and smothered the Sound genin in one move turning him into a bloody paste. "Ouch. That was nasty!"

The next one attracted everyone's attention-it was between Rock Lee and Hyuuga Hinata.

They were so opposite of each other that it was funny. Hinata was shy, soft spoken and had no competitive spirit, and she wore typical pale Hyuuga clothes. Lee on the other hand was a pure Maito Gai clone-tall, muscular, dressed in the eye killing green spandex and with eternal chipper attitude.

"Yosh Hyuuga san, let's do our best to prove our skills to everyone!" Lee smiled exuberantly and assumed his nice guy pose and flashed Hinata his toothy shiny smile that was surely meant to blind his enemies.

"H-hai." Hinata spoke and gave him a slight bow. She slowly assumed her family's taijutsu stance and activated her dojutsu, making veins around her pale eyes bulge slightly. Lee stood fully erect, standing in sideways pose, his right arm at his right hip, his left bent at the elbow and raised towards Hinata.

"Begin!" Hayate ordered and left.

Lee moved first, his form vanishing. Hinata instantly spun on the spot half crouching, her left deflecting Lee's kick and the right tried to jab his stomach. But Lee was obviously very familiar with the Jyuuken because he slaped her palm aside, and scrambled away. Hinata remained standing content to defend.

Naruto found her attitude a correct measure, since she couldn't match Lee in strength or speed. For all her shortcomings, Hinata wasn't stupid. Unlike some girls.

"Impressive speed." Kakashi observed silently to his students.

"Hey, you should've seen him kick Sasuke's ass before the first exam." Naruto smirked and Sasuke scowled as his Sharingan was following every move Lee made. He was analyzing his style. Kakashi was well aware of it, but said nothing to dissuade him from that.

"No surprise, his taijutsu is incredibly advanced, which is understandable since Gai is the best taijutsu master in Konoha." Kakashi said with serious tone. "Lee is probably one of the best genin here."

"Even though he can't use chakra?" Sakura asked.

"To say he can't use it would be wrong. He just can't convert it into ninjutsu or genjutsu. But the Goken doesn't require such things, only raw physical energy."

"That doesn't seem impressive." Sasuke snorted.

"Is that so?" Kakashi asked in slightly mocking tone. "And what if I told you that this genin would've been able to beat that Haku person alone?"

"No way!" Sakura said in shock.

"Look and see." Kakashi told her and they all saw Lee dance in circles around Hinata who was desperately avoiding his lightning fast attacks only because her eyes let her see him wherever he went.

Lee suddenly focused his energy and simply vanished from his spot. Hinata didn't have time to rect, he was alredy under her guard kicking her chin. Hinata flew up in the air and Lee suddenly appeared in her shadow delivering several sharp punches to paralyse her body. He was to unravel his bandages, just like he meant to do with Sasuke, but changed his opinion and simply struck Hinata hard a few more times. She landed on the floor bonelessly and remained unconscious. Hayate pronounced Lee's victory.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked, yet again unable to follow that speed. His red dojutsu spun wild as he observed Lee with venomous intensity.

"Hmm, that's one of Konoha's forbidden taijutsu moves-the First Lotus. It's a part of the forbidden technique that involves the use of celestial gates in ones body." Kakashi said as he eyed Gai who was praising his student.

"What gates?" Sakura asked while Naruto and Sasuke listened with avid interest.

"There are eight points in human body that act as regulators for chakra flow and creation in us. It's possible to open them thus allowing us to increase our energy exponentially, and speed and strength in turn. If you opened all of them you'd be stronger than a Kage."

"Nice." Naruto said. "And what are drawbacks for using them?"

"Very good Naruto." Kakashi said to the blonde. "Essentially such move leaves it's user tired and often injured since such technique puts enormous stresses on the body. It's like letting electricity going haywire, it burns out it's conduit. It can be lethal if not executed properly. Obviously Lee is quite good since he wasn't visibly impaired. In case of opening all of eight gates, it's death sentence. No one can survive that."

"Hn, using chakra like we do is safer then." Sasuke said and for him that was it.

The last two fights were kind of disappointing. Temari of the Sand trashed soundly Lee's female teammate who liked weapons too much to learn how to fight a ninjutsu user. And Kankuro of the Sand killed Tsurugi Misumi, a Konoha genin, in a clever way-he was hiding the fact he was a puppeteer. When Misumi used his rubber like limbs to envelop Kankuro in a python like hug, Kankuro revealed he was actually hidden in the backpack and manipulating his puppet to pretend it was him. He used the puppet to trap Misumi and kill him with in built weaponry.

"Congratulations on your entry in the final round Naruto." Hokage spoke with wry smile to Naruto who was sitting with him in a small office somewhere in the surveillance base where prelims were held that day.

"Thanks Old Man." Naruto grinned. He always enjoyed the praise from him.

"You have a difficult opponent, that Hyuuga boy. I heard many good things about his skills."

"No worries, I'll win. I already know how."

"Do you?" Sarutobi asked curiously.

"Sure, it's going to be a nice lesson in 'looking underneath the underneath'," Naruto smirked.

"I see you've absorbed Kakashi's lessons well. Oh, well, onto the real matter." Sarutobi now became serious. "I 've already heard the report of your teammates about Orochimaru. I want yours now."

Naruto nodded. "You know that he came to toy with Sasuke and do something nasty to him. He sent a large summon to get rid of me, but I got rid of it instead. I had it eat a few explosive tags in my stead. Stupid snake."

"Summons are not to be underestimated, many are very intelligent and clever." Sarutobi admonished Naruto, unable to suppress his tendency to teach.

"Well, this one wasn't. When I got to my teammates, Orochimaru was already about to do what he wanted. I proved to be a little distraction, so I drew on what little of Kyuubi's power I could muster. That damn thing is sure stingy with it."

"You comunicated with Kyuubi?" Sarutobi eyed Naruto with worrry.

"I wouldn't call it a communication. Kyuubi isn't exactly fond of me." Naruto spoke sharply revealing his annoyance and Sarutobi winced internally. "But we've reached an understanding. He is willing to let me use his power, but only in serious situations. As long as I'm not about to die, I'm on my own. That also means I am not allowed to provoke such incidents, it hates stupid people."

"Strange, wouldn't your death mean his death too?" Sarutobi wondered curiously. He lit his trusty pipe.

"Hardly so, it can't die. He'd only reform somewhere else, after many years." Naruto informed Sarutobi.

"I was afraid of that." Sarutobi sighed. "I take it Orochimaru also recognized you and took you more seriously."

"Not by much. But I managed to bluff him a little by threatening to unleash two tails of Kyuubi's chakra and endanger my teammates. He wasn't willing to deal with me and the ANBU at once. Nor he wanted me to harm Sasuke by accident."

"He believed you?"

"Why not? A man like him will assume the worst of others, as everyone judges others by themselves as a measuring tape of kind. Orochimaru surely would have done it, so why wouldn't I?"

"Indeed." Sarutobi agreed sadly.

"Also, I suggested he could do whatever he planned later anyway and I said I needed Sasuke in fighting condition. I gambled there with his calculated outlook on life. It appealed to him that I was so cold to my comrades. And I think he's enjoying the wait, your alarm and Sasuke's fear. And he's pretty sure he can walk around here unobstructed with his body masking techniques." Naruto added unwilling to reveal that he knew Orochimaru was a body thief. That knowledge wasn't easily explained.

"You are very observant young man Naruto." Sarutobi said in the end. "Again, your intelligence has served you well. Orochimaru is that kind of person, he enjoys mind games a great deal. Anything else you've noticed by chance? No matter how small it was."

Naruto made a thinking face before answering. "Well, like I said he's very good at hiding his true face. What surprised me was that he was truly smelling like a girl, a real girl. My nose can tell a difference you know. I guess it's one of those jinchuriiki things."

Sarutobi blinked and straightened in his seat. "How strange...and not unbelievable, not with him and his goal."

"What?" Naruto asked, but was ignored. Sarutobi was deep in thought, full of worry and low fear. Naruto deduced he also had an inkling of Orochimaru's body hopping. Considering Sarutobi's unease that was palpable to Naruto like a cold draft of air, it was very much true.

"Nothing, I just remembered something from the old days. Don't worry. You can go, I suggest you train hard through the next few weeks."

"Oh, I will Old Man." Naruto waved goodbye to Sarutobi who took no notice of his exit.

When Naruto was gone, Sarutobi put his head in his arms., almost ready to cry.

"Orochimaru, what have you done?"


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

When Naruto saw Kakashi waiting for him at the Ichiraku's, he grinned inwardly knowing what was coming.

"Hi, Kakashi sensei!" He said as he sat down next to the jounin who was reading his pervy material. "What's up?"

"Well, Naruto I'm in a quite tight spot." Kakashi said in a flat tone that revealed little of his emotions.

"What do you mean sensei?" Naruto pretended ignorance. He wasn't going to make this easy on the man.

"You know very well that I have to train you and Sasuke for the final round. And I can't be with both of you at the same time."

"Sure you can, just use Shadow Clones!" Eat that pervy sensei, Naruto cackled in his head as he buried his face in the most delicious ramen in the world.

Kakashi sighed. "You know that I can't use them like you, actually no one can. Honestly, it's ridiculous how long your clones can exist and how far can you send them."

Naruto's current record was three days and twenty kilometres, with three clones. Which was scary. And insane.

"So, you're choosing Sasuke over myself." Naruto said in a bleak voice, causing Kakashi to wince in guilt.

"I don't have any choice, not really. Gaara of the Sand will try his best to kill him, while Neji won't do that to you." Kakashi's excuse seemed solid.

"I see," Naruto stared in distance. "You don't believe I can beat this Neji guy."

"It's not true, I just feel that saving Sasuke's life is more important at the moment. He isn't as strong as you are, and if what you said of Gaara is true, he's dead meat. I need every moment at my disposal to give Sasuke some chance to make it out of that fight alive."

"Wow, Sasuke better doesn't hear you, he'll be crushed by your low opinion of his abilities." Naruto joked.

Kakashi just shrugged. "I'm not blind Naruto. Besides, Gaara is a dangerous ninja. Very powerful, very deadly."

" I know, that's why I don't get why do you think you can teach Sasuke anything in a month that would help him against Gaara. What we saw him do, that's just a tip of the iceberg. No matter how you train Sasuke, he won't be able to beat Gaara."

"I plan on teaching Sasuke how to survive that match, not to win it. Maybe he'll even weaken Gaara so that you could finish him off later." Kakashi said and paid for Naruto's bowl. "I've already made arrangements for you to meet your temporary trainer. He's an elite ninja too, so I'm convinced he'll train you well. His name is Ebisu. Meet him tomorrow at the training field seventeen, exactly at eight am. He is a bit arrogant and pompous, but he knows his stuff. Ja ne!"

Kakashi was pretty much on spot with Ebisu. The guy was tall, athletic and had a pompous attitude about a mile wide, mostly in terms of belief about his own abilities and in his attitude that demanded proper show of respect to those of certain station in life and so on. He was full of ideas about what was proper or not, about how people should think and behave. And he talked a lot. Nauto didn't Force choke the man for one reason only-Ebisu was a decent sparring partner and had connections with some ANBU types who provided him with specific items Naruto needed to beat Neji. Ebisu showed decent appreciation of Naruto's plans, which also went in his favor.

Right now, the two were sparring. Ebisu dashed forward, his palms striking towards the blonde genin in attempt to hit him, but Naruto slapped each aside and tried to kick Ebisu's knee. It was a fast and precise attack that forced Ebisu to vault in a side flip, then roll and do a quick leg swipe that Naruto avoided with a short jump and kunai throw at Ebisu's head. Naruto could have tried to kick Ebisu's head, but that would also draw a risk of being slapped on the leg by Ebisu in a simulated Jyuuken counter, as Ebisu demonstrated several times before.

Ebisu rolled away, then flipped on his feet and vanished in a burst of speed. Naruto turned in time to block his low kick at his kneecap, and to grab Ebisu's forearm for a body throw over his shoulder. Ebisu's other hand flashed forward, aiming for Naruto's lungs so Naruto let go of his other arm opting to stay out of his palms range.

Both ninjas were breathing heavily, they were fighting for quite a while.

"Impressive reaction time Uzumaki," Ebisu commented while fixing his shades that hid his eyes.

"You're not too bad at this fake Jyuuken stuff either, Ebisu sensei." Naruto sent a compliment to the man. He noticed Ebisu liked praise, so he used it whenever appropriate, without trying to look like a suck up.

They made several fast and furious exchanges of attacks and counters before Ebisu signalled it was time to stop. He wiped his forehead and straightened his jounin jacket carefully. It was a mark of his rank and he loved it.

"That's enough for today Uzumaki, " Ebisu said. "We must relax, it's also a part of the training. Let's have you pratice katas on the water. You may use your Shadow Clones for light sparring to learn katas better. I'll observe." He vanished in the swirl of leaves, and Naruto followed him in the same manner. It took a while to talk Ebisu into revealing how to perform the Shunshin, but with Shadow Clones Naruto learned it in two days. Also, the Force helped a lot with it because he always could see where he would end up in advance.

They met again at the local hot spring, it's boiling water provided Naruto with sufficient incentive to maintain his footing above the surface, and he did so with ease. His clones either followed his moves or made short attacks that Naruto avoided with eyes closed.

Ebisu looked at Naruto with approval. Despite his fears, the boy proved to be a hard worker with excellent grasp of shinobi tactics. Kakashi didn't exaggerate about his star pupil who actually needed only gentle pushes in right directions to realize his vast potential. Ebisu also liked his respectful attitude, quick thinking and obedience. A model student, and strong ninja in his own right.

Ebisu heard an unpleasant giggle nerby and turned in annoyance to see who dared to disrupt the holy silence in the clearing behind women's bathhouse. He glared angrily at the shameless white haired man who was sinfully peeking at women inside, violating their privacy and beautiful bodies...Ebisu shook his head of the unwanted imagery containing nude, big breasted ladies and rushed the pervert to punish him.

He was knocked out in a second.

Naruto almost dropped in the boiling water as he saw Ebisu being taken down by some perverted ninja in a second. The guy didn't even look at Ebisu as he summoned a large toad who knocked out the jounin with his/her tongue.

"A-hem." Naruto cleared his throat from behind the white haired summoner, now identified as Jiraya of the Sannin. He was the only guy with the toad summoning contract.

"Go away." Jiraya mumbled in annoyed tone, never looking at Naruto as he scribbled something on his notepad.

"I won't go away, you pervy bastard." Naruto hissed in a false angry outburst. "You hurt my sensei, and I'll go to the ANBU and they'll take care of you."

Jiraya turned around so fast that he made it look like he switched sides without moving. He was sweating bullets and making panicked hand gestures. "C'mon kid, it's just a small misunderstanding. He'll be just fine."

"I don't believe you. You attacked a Konoha nin, you gotta pay."

"But I'm also Konoha ninja." Jiraya protested still trying to stay unnoticed to avoid doing his boring duties as long as possible.

"Where's your headband?" Naruto demanded sharply. "Actually, don't tell me anything. I can't trust you so I'll just go the ANBU, they can sort you out."

Jiraya grabbed Naruto in tight grip before he vanished and turned him around with friendly grin. "Relax kid, my headband is a mark of my status as a Toad Senin, I'm Jiraya of the Sannin."

"No way!"Naruto faked disbelief. "You're just an old perv."

"But..." Jiraya wanted to whine, but he caught himself as he saw the evil glint in the boys eyes. "Brat, are you making fun of me?"

"So what if I am?" Naruto said nonchalantly. "You deserved it."

"You've got some guts kid, to fool with me. Not many genin would be so disrespecting. Who are you?"

"Oh come on!" Naruto protested. "You know very well who am I. My face betrays me." Naruto was talking about his whisker marks, which identified him to any Konoha person.

"That's true." Jiraya admitted as he straightened to his full height. "So you are Uzumaki Naruto. Whatcha doing here with that fop Ebisu?"

"I was training for the final round of the Chunin Exam." Naruto explained.

"Oh? You're that good already. I find it odd that the Third would make Ebisu your jounin sensei." Jiraya remarked casually, fishing for more info.

Naruto felt no remorse for ratting Kakashi out to his idol. "Hatake Kakashi is my real sensei, but he's too busy with Sasuke to train me. In his opinion, Sasuke needs his help more."

"How so?" Jiraya asked, ow truly interested. He found it very surprising that Kakashi would favor one pupil over another, even if he was an Uchiha.

"Apparently, he fears that Gaara of the Sand, he's Suna's jinchuriiki by the way, will try to kill Sasuke. And Sasuke isn't strong enough to win now."

"Interesting, and he doesn't think you'll fight him too. Why?"

"My opponent is Hyuuga Neji, a genius of his clan. He is really good and sensei is certain I can't beat him. Otherwise he'd have to count on me maybe fighting Gaara too."

That made sense to Jiraya even though he didn't approve of Kakashi's judgement. It was clear that he had more concerns for Sasuke, than for Naruto. He'd have to have a word with the kid, Minato taught him better.

"Now, it's your turn to do what's right," Naruto said with smile. "Train me to beat another jinchuriiki."

Jiraya laughed. "Why should I? I have duties too, you know."

"Maybe, but you also like to watch naked women. If I were to report your presence to a few kunoichi, I'm sure you'd find it very difficult to enjoy your little habit."

"You wouldn't." Jiraya narrowed his eyes, but he knew he was beaten.

"Try me." Naruto challenged the man, his face stony.

"What exactly do you want of me? Ebisu is a decent jounin, more than enough to prepare you for your matches."

"Like i said, I want to have a way to beat Gaara. He will be my opponent after I deal with that Hyuuga prick."

"Huh, you're awfully certain you'll get him. That's foolish. The Hyuuga clan is feared with a good reason." Jiraya said in annoyance.

Naruto described his plan to Jiraya who found himself amused by it. It had that devilish cunning Naruto's mother was known for. He liked it.

"All right, I admit your plan is clever, maybe it will work. It's pretty rare to see genin who goes for tricks instead of brute force. But that won't work on a demon tend to be awfully strong and immune to most tricks. With them, it's either brute strength, or sealing."

"And you can't teach me any seals in a month." Naruto said.

"That's right kid, but no worries, I've got just the right kind of brute force you might you like to be the newest toad summoner?" Jiraya grinned widely, he couldn't have done better if he planned it.

It was the night before the final round of the exam. Naruto was resting in his apartment, meditating and focusing on the coming matches and , he knew what was going on. His teacher had spied around the village, gathering data and observing Konoha's surroundings. It was really hard to miss the signs, these shinobi were not as clever as they thought.

"Aren't you going to warn the old fool?" Avariss asked Naruto as his spirit coalesced in front of Naruto, red aura surrounding him.

"Why? I'm sure he already knows, you must've noticed changes in security patterns of the village." Naruto answered in an unconcerned manner.

"Indeed, but they don't expect a team of Orochimaru's servants to perform a large summoning ouside the west wall." Avariss replied in equal manner. "By the way, that sick jounin from the preliminary phase is dead. He was killed by the Sand jounin with mask over half of his face."

"Heh, now I'm sure that the Old Man is aware of the impending invasion. How pathetic of these morons from the Sand to be discovered so soon." Naruto scoffed.

"It wasn't their fault, that Kabuto boy led the sick jounin to the meeting place on purpose, although he hid it well." Avariss informed Naruto.

"Oh?" Naruto spoke in surprise. "That's strange. Or maybe not. It seems that Orochimaru intends to swindle both villages while he kills the Third. He goes away with both villages too weak to attack him back."

Avariss laughed evilly. "Ahh, so you are aware he killed the Kazekage!"

"Of course, when he came this morning with his false face I sensed it immediately."

"You are becoming a master of the Force Naruto. That is good, very good." Avariss purred in satsfaction of a teacher pleased with his student.

"Thank you Master." Naruto bowed slightly. "What should we do then? "

"Nothing." Avariss spoke coldly. "Tomorrow you must survive, let the village fend for itself. The Third dies tomorrow, by his own hand. I have foreseen it."

"A pity." Naruto said, feeling some regret over it.

"You could save his life." Avariss offered glibly, testing Naruto's resolve and loyalty to Sith teachings.

"And reveal myself before time is right? No." Naruto's response was cold and resolute.

"Very well, tomorrow you will conquer your last link to this place. Your last weakness." Darth Avariss intoned and Naruto closed his eyes, knowing it was his last test before becoming a true Sith.

The day of the exam was sunny, warm and welcoming. Totally opposite of what was going to happen in the next few hours. Naruto and the rest of finalists were lined up on the hard soil of the Chunin Exam's stadium, the only one missing was Sasuke.

Spectators were crowded in their seats, a mass of sweating and colorofully dressed people filling the air with noise of their voices and cries. And many of them were cleverly disguised spies and enemy ninjas. The ANBU were also subtly occupying spaces behind the crowd, almost unseen. But some did know of them, like Naruto. He could sense the underlying tension in many shinobi, they were ready for war.

"All right guys, I'm Shiranui Genma, your new proctor." Said a Konoha jounin with looks like Mizuki's, except he seemed older and he had a large senbon in the corner of his mouth. "The rules of the combat are the same as in preliminaries. Any questions? No? Good, now all of you get lost except Uzumaki and Hyuuga."

Only Naruto and Neji remained standing opposite of each other. Everyone on the stadium was deathly silent, the expectations of this match were high.

"I see that you're very self confident Uzumaki." Neji spoke coldly to Naruto. He obviously liked to belittle his opponents. "I say it's unfounded. Fate has decreed that you will loose, because it pitted you against me. There is a vast, uncrossable gulf in ability between us, and no amount of training can cross it. You can't win."

Naruto just smirked confidently in response to Neji's monologue.

"I see that there is nothing I can do to convince you that I'm right. Prepare yourself to suffer a humiliating defeat." Neji spoke and assumed the Jyuuken stance, his Byakugan activated.

Naruto acted first by sending four Shadow Clones to engage Neji while he studied his reactions. As he was suspecting, Neji was quite skilled and managed to defeat his clones with a single strike for each.

"Is that your best?" Neji sneered at Naruto, again in his starting stance. "More trash is just trash in the end. You will loose."

"Come on then, get me if you can!" Naruto challenged the boy while throwing down several smoke grenades that produced a thick shroud of smoke.

Neji's Byakugan saw easily through it and he smirked as he saw several different versions of Naruto clones and he rushed eagerly in. He speared those closest to him, they were made of dirt and then he danced with others, baiting them into blind attacks. He had to admit, those clones were able to guess his position pretty well-they probably relied on the sound.

But nonetheless, they were defeated and he saw the last Naruto retreat from the smoke so he followed.

Naruto created several clones again and these blocked Neji's attack, this time Neji found them much harder to hit. They attacked with more coordination, covering for each other. But Neji was better, faster. Yet the blonde would always send more groups of four and five who nipped at Neji's defenses like hungry wolves.

For the first time Neji was beginning to worry about his chances for victory. His enemy had obviously decided to tire him out, and he had the chakra to actually pull it off. His breathing was getting ragged, his vision swam slightly.

"It's getting to you, isn't it?" Naruto asked with a wide knowing grin.

"What do you mean loser? I can fight for a long time." Neji scowled in disdain, even though he felt like shit currently. Those clones drove him hard.

"Yeah right, with that much poison in your lungs I doubt you'll last more than two minutes from now." Naruto cackled.

"What?"

"That's right Neji, I poisoned you. Did you really think I was actually stupid enough to believe you couldn't see through the smoke? I was just baiting you, so you would enter and breathe in some of my special smoke."

"But you breathed it too," Neji said and realized it was getting harder to breathe.

"No, I just pretended to breathe. All you saw me do was to move my lungs as if I was breathing. You saw everything, but didn't really understand what was going on. What use is your bloodline when you can't think properly?" Naruto smirked and created ten more clones that rushed Neji in three waves.

Neji run and weaved, dodged and ducked, while using his remaining strength to beat them, but his body was getting sluggish and it was harder and harder to hit them. In last ditch attempt to get them out of his way, he spun quickly.

"Kaiten!" he yelled, producing a spinning wall of chakra that obliterated remaining clones.

"Wow, that's cool!" Naruto said and he meant it. To use chakra in such a way was a great trick. He decided to copy it as soon as possible. "Too bad it can't help you now."

"I can still fight!" Neji said defiantly.

"No, you can't." Naruto said and vanished from his spot, only to appear behind Neji who spun around to strike him with his fingers.

"Too slow." Naruto said as he caught Neji's hand and twisted it quickly, it broke at the elbow joint with a dry snap. Neji screamed and tried with the other hand but Naruto caught it too, blocked Nejis's knee and head-butted him.

Neji staggered backwards, his face bleeding. Naruto kicked him in the groin, making most of men in the audience wince in sympathy. And then he finished him with a high kick to the head that sent Neji flying for full three meters.

Naruto calmly approached the unconscious boy and extracted a needle injector.

"What the hell is that?" Genma said as he appeared with the Shunshin next to Naruto.

"The antidote, what else?" Naruto said calmly. "I can't leave him like that, the drug might stop his breathing."

"Okay, give it to him." Genma said and Naruto injected Neji with a whitish liquid.

"Where did you get the lung inhibitor anyway? I though it was restricted only to jounins and ANBU."

"I happen to know a jounin who also knows a few ANBU agents." Naruto smirked.

Gemnma shook his head. "It figures you would."

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Genma announced and people begun cheering on Naruto as he was leaving the arena.

"Huh, what do you know-the brat actually beat the Hyuuga asshole." Anko commented to Kurenai who was standing next to her with other jounin senseis of rookies. Then she started to jump happily. "I'm rich, I'm rich!"

"Er, you actually bet on him to win?" Asuma spoke with subdued voice.

"Of course! The kid is a killer, anyone could see that! Ha, you bet on the Hyuuga. How much did you loose?"

"That's my business." Asuma huffed and lighted another smoke.

"Poor Asuma, you won't be able to buy so many smokes for a while." Anko cooed to him in fake sympathy, and Kurenai giggled at that. She too hated Asuma's smoking.

Further away from them, the rookies sat in shock, actually it was Tenten who remained speechless.

"Cha, take that bastard!" Sakura voiced her opinion silently. She was still smarting from the humiliating defeat by Neji.

"Wow Forehead, I didn't know that Naruto was that strong." Ino commented.

"Of course he is, even Sasuke-kun said so once." Sakura huffed in offended tone. "He's really got a lot of chakra, and is quite sneaky. That thing with poison, nobody would have thought of it."

"Right." Ino answered thoughtfully. "Do you think he can beat Sasuke-kun?"

"No!" Sakura answered hotly. Then she appeared to think about it. "Actually, i don't know. But Sasuke-kun is surely a lot stronger now, he and Kakashi sensei were training together for the whole month."

"Isn't that kind of biased?" Choji asked while he munched on his chips.

"No," Sakura said resolutely. "I know for a fact that sensei asked another elite jounin to help Naruto."

"Really?" Ino wondered.

"Sure, I heard that he also trains Hokage's grandson."

Ino and Choji shuddered, they remembered the annoying nephew of Asuma's who would go around griping about becoming the next Hokage after he beat the Third. His sensei had to be a saint to stay on as his teacher.

"Congratulations Naruto, you were sneaky as usual." Shikamaru said in his lazy drawl as Naruto emerged on the balcony where the rest of finalists were.

"Thanks Shika, I can't wait to see what will you do." Naruto grinned evilly and

Shikamaru winced. His mother heard him complain about having to fight a girl, she tore him a new one loud and clear. He had to fight.

"Proctor, I forfeit!" Kankuro of the Sand spoke loudly as was his turn to fight Shino. Every spectator booed at him, it was cowardly.

Soon, it was Shikamaru's turn to face Temari of the Sand. It was an interesting match of wits and patience, although the audience didn't like all that waiting and positioning. It was a hard match up-the girl was a powerful long to mid range wind user, while the Nara was limited to only one jutsu, the Shadow Imitation. It relied upon him extending his own shadow to catch Temari's. That proved difficult since Temari knew of his jutsu and was careful to stay away and blast him with her wind attacks. But that didn't work, so they attempted to outmaneuvre each other.

After his last attempt, which involved making a makeshift baloon out of his jacket and kunai to extend his shadow range, Shikamaru gave up. He was low on chakra and the girl was too smart to fall for his traps.

Temari wasn't too happy with such a victory, but didn't look into horse's teeth.

Naruto merely smirked when Genma called out for Sasuke to face Gaara. Sasuke was still not at the stadium.

"Hey Naruto," Kiba called out to the blonde. "Where is that Uchiha ass? Did he chicken out?"

"Nope, I think he and sensei are going to be fashionably late." Naruto smirked in return.

"He's not worried about being disqualified?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"Kiba, we're talking about Sasuke, the last loyal Uchiha." Naruto pointed out to the dog boy who looked annoyed at that revelation.

"You're right, that prick could getaway with almost anything. I hate him." Kiba grouched and was even more annoyed when it was confirmed. Sasuke and Gaara's match was moved for later, while Kiba and Lee were called to fight.

**Okay, that's it for this chapter. I wanted to thank all those who reviewed my story, you know who you are and I loooove you too, he, he, he. Well, except for one guy who made a comment how he stopped reading my fic because there was no Star wars stuff in it-like why doesn't Naruto have his lightsaber and why he doesn't use his powers to beat everyone, it was boring to him. **

**To answer that to him and everyone else, again I say Naruto is not your brute force mass killer like Vader or Maul were. He's modeled after Palpatine, during his best acting days. **

**Now, Naruto has extraordinary abilities, but they aren't enough, not yet. He has to hide his true potential, it's his ace in the sleeve. He is aware that Kyuubi didn't attack Konoha on his own, he also knows that Madara is alive and after him. He fears spies of Madara's, so he hides his real skills. And so he uses them only when no one can see it. Like 'convincing' Orochimaru to let them go in the Forrest of Death.**

**He doesn't use advanced tech, since he doesn't have necessary tools and parts to constreuct them. Remember, he has the knowledge, but not all of it. He could construct his own lightsaber, but for one missing piece-there is no way he can get or make it's power source. And not even chakra is powerful enough to fuel the lightsaber. We're talking about nuclear reactor that fits in someone's hand. Other tech is also out of question-it would bring unwanted attention to him.**

**I've read a few other fics with Force using Naruto, and they disapointed me, mostly because they made him insanely strong in just a few months or less. He uses his gifts openly and is loyal to the village.**

**Not realistic at all, but what can I say? Fics are fiction, not reality and I'm not one to judge too hard.**

**Again, my main complaint to most of Naruto fics is that they make him good and nice despite written intros where he is beaten to the death, tortured and neglected on a daily basis. **

**I say, kill them all and let the Allmighty sort them out. Harsh, but realistic in most cases. That's why in some instances I prefer Sasuke to Naruto, because he is angry and cold. Sometimes I feel sorry for him, especially since Kishi made it so that Konoha wiped out Uchihas after making them feel ostracized and rebellious. Who wouldn't think it was wrong and deserved punishment? But Sasuke still stays a prick in my book, since he betrayed Konoha before he learned the truth. He is power hungry and is jealous of Naruto's power. He is here like that too, and I'll portray him in that light, but there won't be much bashing. **

**Another thing I never liked too much was when authors simply change Naruto over night and he becomes smart, strong, a chick magnet and so on. Like, he realizes he's the son of the Fourth or he gets mocked by Sakura one time too many...mainly he gets a wake up call and becomes strong, suave and hooks up with Hinata soon after.**

**It's like there is a mass spread idea that idiocy can be cured instantly. From a moron who can't read to a genius of Shadow Clone style learning. I like stories where Naruto doesn't become a whole other person, I mean you can freely change the story so that Naruto never existed. People often make it so that Naruto only pretended to be so stupid, so he could get friends and nobody would fear him, but then he sheds his idiot persona and becomes cool. It would be better to have him keep his facade and kill from ambushes. There are such stories, and I like them. I like reading about evil Naruto too, but I do admit it's hard to write him like that-I like Konoha in general, especially the rookies. They are the ones Naruto should be loyal to. But alas, here in my fic to Naruto all are just tools to use as needed.**

**Nobody should get my words to the heart, I'm just a little cranky.  
**

**Stay tuned, and have fun!**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

After one forfeit and one long, boring match of wits, the crowd was now hooting for two new fighters to have a real battle. They wanted to see blows exchanged, strange jutsus fired and so on, that's why Kiba and Lee were greeted with loud cheers and a great hush fell suddenly, like a calm before the storm.

Kiba nad Akamaru faced Lee, who assumed his good guy pose and gave Kiba a thumbs up sign.

"Yosh, let's do our best Inuzuka-san! Let these people see our youth burn brighter than the sun!"

"Er, sure..." Kiba blinked as his eyes caught the shine of Lee's perfectly white teeth. He could've sworn he heard a 'zing' sound or something like it.

Lee vanished from his spot, and Kiba rolled down avoiding his kick. Akamaru jumped at Lee, his jaws clicking audibly as they missed his tigh. Kiba already recovered and rushed at Lee with his sharp nails, trying to claw the older genin, but Lee was too quick.

The audience oohed and aahed, finally a straightforward hand to hand match.

"Heh, you're fast." Kiba smiled at the greenclad boy. "So am I!"

Kiba's new speed brought him quickly close to Lee, to make him unable to use his powerful kicks. Lee proved adept at hand techniques as well, his sharp punches and hammer blows were more than a match for Kiba's angry swipes and kicks. They moved around in quick steps, trying to hit each other, but to no avail. Finally, they separated by long back jumps and took a short rest.

"Yosh, you're really good fighter Inuzuka-san," Lee complimented the dog user. "Gai sensei was right, I will have to go all the way to win."

Lee kneeled and unlatched the fastenings that served to secure his weights around his forelegs and threw them aside where they landed with a loud bang and made a large crater. Kiba's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Akamaru whined.

_We're screwed!_ Kiba thought with grimace and he ate one of his soldier pills quickly. He threw another to Akamaru who ate it too and turned into his bigger, red furred version.

Lee's newfound speed made him nearly invisible to spectators, except for those who were ninjas. He blurred past Kiba's guard, easily avoiding his impressive slashes and swipes, even though Kiba was in his bestial mode. It didn't work against Gai's student who run circles around Kiba, hitting him occasionally as he passed him by.

Everyone gaped in amazed wonder as Kiba and his red dog were being kicked around like pinballs. Lee's speed was insane. But even he had to stop for a second or two to catch his breath and that's when Kiba acted.

He threw smoke grenades at Lee and quickly jumped high forming his trademark Double Piercing Fang attack with Akamaru. Two spinning tornadoes of flesh and claws moved at much greater velocities, enough so they could actually hurt Lee.

In the smoke, Lee used his hearing as taught to him by Gai who knew very well what one Inuzuka could do and dodged initial assaults, even if it was unseen by spectators. He focused on his body, and concentrated hard. Kiba and Akamaru were coming back again.

Lee, with his first gate opened disappeared again and launched a mighty downward kick at one of his spinning attackers. The kick sent Akamaru reeling, his spin and henge broken, and Kiba launched himself to catch his injured partner.

Lee landed hard, his leg hurt by the attack. Kiba glared at Lee angrily, Akamaru was unconscious. He ate another pill and attacked again. Lee was dodging, but barely and Kiba managed to hit him once, leaving four long lines of blood on his back.

Lee ignored the wound and focused his mind again, he knew he had to end this now. He was hurt, and had one more chance to end this.

As Kiba attacked again, spinning madly, Lee opened three celestial gates in his body, his muscles bulged, his skin was getting reddish color. He jumped, leaving a small crater in the ground and suddenly he appeared in front of Kiba, delivering a powerful front kick that sent Kiba flying backwards. Lee touched down and vanished again, appearing below Kiba and jumped to smash him down with double handed strike to his sternum.

Kiba landed with a mighty crash, forming a crater in the ground. Blood flew from his mouth and ears, his limbs were splayed wide. Lee landed down and fell on his knee, his left leg couldn't hold him anymore. He rose slowly, visibly in pain now.

Genma appeared next to him and checked Kiba out. He saw that the Inuzuka was out and that Lee was not.

"Kid, can you walk?" He asked Lee who nodded.

"Winner is Rock Lee!" Genma announced and the crowd went wild. Lee stared in amazement at such a scene and smiled happily, hopping slightly on one foot.

"Gai sensei, I made it!" He yelled to his idol and teacher.

"Excellent, Lee !" Gai yelled loudly amongst his fellow jounins. "Your fires of youth shine bright today. Now get some rest!"

"Yes Gai sensei!" Lee saluted quickly and marched away from the field.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in irritation, Sasuke wasn't just fashionably late, he was very close to being disqualified. The audience was booing and protesting again, they wanted to see the last Uchiha in action.

"Where is he ?" Gaara demanded coldly as he turned to look at rookies from Konoha.

"How the hell are we supposed to know that?" Naruto scoffed at Gaara, and looked him in the eye coldly. "And don't talk to me like that again, or I'll redecorate your face raccoon."

Naruto grinned viciously as Gaara's siblings paled in fear. It was caused by two things-first, no one talked to Gaara like that, and second-why did this Konoha guy call Gaara a raccoon?

Naruto pushed on their minds with the Force, sending them a massive dose of fear. They visibly trembled as his eyes flashed from cerulaen blue into crimson slits. To his disappointment, Gaara failed to take a hint and grinned maniacally at Naruto, his bloodlust rising.

"My mother shall taste your blood." Gaara said and was to walk towards the blonde, but then he whirled around. Something was going on in the field.

Next to the proctor, air shimmered and leaves appeared as if carried by an invisible storm. Out of them, two figures shimmered into existence. Kakashi andd Sasuke stood back to back, making a very showy entrance. The audience roared with approval.

Gaara vanished from the balcony in a burst of sand, it was the Sand Shunshin in action.

"Shino, Shikamaru-get ready to grab those two when I give the word." Naruto ordered coldly to his fellow rookies.

"You know something?" Shikamaru whispered out of the corner of his mouth, taking care not to be overheard by Sand siblings who were too preoccupied with their brother.

"I do have a hunch Shika," Naruto said in answer. "That Kankuro guy forfeited and then argued with his sister about saving his tricks for some plan."

"How did you learn that?"

"I have very big ears." Naruto grinned and Shikamaru sighed. Naruto was always a bit secretive.

"I concur with your assessment Uzumaki-san." Shino added his two cents. "I believe something is amiss with Sand genins. Kankuro-san doesn't seem like a type to forfeit his match."

"All right, but you better get them Shino, I don't really have much chakra left." Shikamaru finally agreed.

"Don't worry, I'm already working on a small genjutsu to confuse them for a short time. You will get them." Naruto murmured, unconcerned with being heard. A little application of the Force made it so that they all seemed to talk about Sasuke and Gaara.

Naruto had to admit it, Sasuke did get stronger. He was able to move like Lee and pummel Gaara despite his Sand shield that wasn't fast enough to react to Sasuke's speedy assaults.

"How is that possible?" Lee whispered as he watched the Uchiha move like he did. He was devastated by Sasuke's casual display of his hard earned skill. It took him more than a year to get there, yet the genius Uchiha did it in a month.

"That's the true power of the Sharingan, " Naruto spoke to Lee and everyone else from Konoha took care to pay attention to his words, even though they still observed Sasuke running circles around Gaara.

"He copied your taijutsu from those few instances he saw you use it and then he trained for the whole month to emulate your style. Kakashi sensei probably helped him there, he is also quite skilled in that way since he has known Gai sensei for years."

"But you can't just copy my speed or strength!" Lee protested almost angrily so.

"I must disagree," Shino said. "Goken is not just mere martial arts style, it's a ninja taijutsu style that relies on internal chakra enhancement and that is what Uchiha-san copied. Unlike you, he can use chakra to make up for his lack of speed and strength."

Lee sighed sadly, realizing that no matter what he did someone could always find a way to best him. But then he fiercely swore to himself to improve even more, to become so strong that it wouldn't matter if he couldn't use chakra like everyone else.

Naruto smiled as he read Lee's thoughts and focused back on Sasuke. As he suspected, Sasuke was getting tired. He was forced to stop twice already to gather more chakra and the last time he twitched in pain. A copy was just that, a mere reflection of the original.

Sasuke was able to imitate Lee, nothing more. He couldn't use his moves as well as Lee and that was visible to someone with the skill to see it. But most of ninjas were just too impressed with his copying ability to see it for what it was.

Finally, the last line of Gaara's defense was crumbling, his sand armour was being chipped away by Sasuke's forceful kicks, Gaara was being thrown around like a rag doll.

So he hid under the dome of thick sand. Sasuke tried to break through it, but suddenly erupting deadly spikes changed his mind. He stood there for a while, studying the barrier and then formed a decision.

Sasuke spun around and raced back to the wall of the arena, using it to stick himself on it.

Naruto focused his senses on him, and he saw him form several seals and grip his right wrist as chakra was being channeled there in extreme quantities.

Sasuke's fist seemed to be holding a piece of lightning that was chirping loudly as he tore forward leaving a deep trench in the wall and earth behind him. His speed was phenomenal, almost untraceable to normal eyes.

Naruto immersed himself in the Force deeply as he reached out to see Sasuke better. Immediately, Sasuke and the whole world slowed to a snail's pace. Colours dimmed at first, then brightened to a neon like quality before regaining their normal, but much sharper intensity. Sounds flowed like a tide, but each clearer than ever. The whole world seemed more alive, but it was Naruto who was in fact more in tune with it.

Naruto was able to follow Sasuke's movement with ease, and he smiled as he saw his two tomoes spin around, absorbing the information and relaying it to Sasuke's mind. Naruto could "see" how it all worked.

Contrary to the popular belief, there was nothing magical about the Sharingan. It was an eye jutsu in a literal sense. Chakra powered it, causing it's coloring and working. Sasuke's eyes changed color because coils in his eyes were full of energy that changed the structure of his eyes a little, altering the way they refracted and absorbed the light. Because their structure was altered, they absorbed the light much better than normal and that resulted in a far better eyesight that included more detailed vision and chakra perception.

Another change occurred down the optical system and it was tied into Sasuke's perception of time. The Sharingan caused a feedback reaction in Sasuke's perception areas of the brain, allowing for more intensive processing of the extra data being channeled into it. That caused the slowing down of external , it was Sasuke's brain that operated at a slightly faster rate. The eye itself regulated that process, since only few people posessed the actual control of their chakra to do that on purpose without frying their brains. Ninjas mostly had to let their bodies and chakra do it on their own, otherwise they were risking sensory overload and loss of sight or other senses.

And the 'precognition' wasn't that at all, it was just a very good guess of what was going to happen next. The Sharingan at it's maximum was able to pick up on many details of the enemy's movement, and with a faster ratio of processing of all those informations at once, the Uchiha were able to make a pretty solid guess of what would happen if a person moved this or that way. Compounded with experience, that ability was almost error free. That's why only raw speed and greater power or skill could defeat the Sharingan. It was only as good as was it's user.

Naruto saw that Sasuke would hit Gaara by sheer luck, and refocused his attention on Gaara's siblings. He 'slammed' them with a powerful Force psyhic wave, paralysing them for a few moments, their minds went blank.

When Gaara's sand dome fell apart to reveal him with a bleeding shoulder and babbling maniacally, Naruto nodded to Shikamaru whose hands formed a seal and his shadow grabbed onto shadows of Gaara's brother and sister. Shino's bugs erupted from under his long coat and encircled them.

Then the genjutsu struck the whole stadium, but no one among contestants fell to it.

Naruto appeared next to snivelling Gaara, intending to finish him off but had to roll aside to avoid the attack of his sensei. Genma moved between them, and suddenly Sasuke fell down screaming as one ANBU agent just extracted a long needle from his neck.

Naruto eyed the masked traitor, who was actually Kabuto in disguise.

"Hello, Naruto-kun." Kabuto said cheerfully standing over Sasuke's fallen form. He removed his mask.

"So, you're Orochimaru's man." Naruto said as if he realized it just then.

"Indeed I am, and this was the perfect chance to give Sasuke-kun the gift he so deserves. After all, it was your idea to wait for a better time. Orochimaru -sama was pleased with his display of talent, so I was given a go to brand him with Orochimaru-sama's cursed seal."

"It looks painful," Naruto noticed as Sasuke was burning with fever.

"Nothing's gained without some pain Naruto-kun." Kabuto chided.

Suddenly Lee blurred in, trying to land a kick at Kabuto who casually avoided it and swiped his palms at Lee who fell down and was unable to walk. It happened so quickly that no one could act.

"Ha, as if one pitiful genin could best me! I'm as good as Hatake Kakashi."

"What did you do to him traitor!" Genma growled.

"I just cut tendons in his legs, he won't walk for a while unless you find a friendly medic nin to fix him." Kabuto grinned then slowly distanced himself from Sasuke and approached Gaara.

"Can you do anything for him?" Baki asked Kabuto who checked Gaara careful not to antagonize the mad genin.

"Not here, I must take him away, our plan is not ruined yet." Kabuto said.

"Good, take him away and then fix him so he can wreak havoc on Konoha. I'll take care of Konoha nins."

Kabuto nodded and took Gaara away with him, using the Shunshin to escape the war zone.

"Uzumaki, go and stop them at any cost." Genma ordered to the blond. "But take care of the green idiot and your teammate first!"

"Hai!" Naruto said and took Lee in a fireman's carry, then he created a Shadow Clone to take Sasuke. He made a step and vanished too, his clone copied his actions.

"You Konoha bastards, so arrogant." Baki scoffed disdainfully. "What do you think that he can do against Gaara?"

Genma smiled coldly. "I think he can do a lot, unlike some people. We have a saying here, 'fight fire with fire' it goes."

Baki paused as he connected the dots."No, you can't have one of them!"

Genma laughed, "And how did you think our Fourth Hokage defeated the Kyuubi?"

Baki cursed as he launched himself at the senbon chewing bastard.

Naruto sighed in annoyance as he landed in the rather short alley between Konoha's civilian buildings to deposit his cargo, Sasuke and Lee.

"What are you doing Naruto-san?" Lee asked as he painfully sat on the ground, his legs now useless.

"It's far too risky to carry you two around, the enemy will see us and I won't be able to protect you two as well as I should." Naruto said, "And here is the manhole for you to hide in with Sasuke, until this whole mess is over."

"But...we..." Lee tried to protest, but Naruto shook his head negatively.

"You do realize you're not combat able at the moment, don't you?"

Lee looked down, his answer was not necessary.

"Look, it's not your fault. But you can still be a useful comrade and protect Sasuke. I can't take him to the hospital, it's probably under attack right now and there is no one able to help him. I suspect that even without this attack, no one would have been able to help anyway."

"You're right, I'll do my best to protect Sasuke-san!" Lee smiled widely, giving to Naruto another one of his blinding smiles.

"Good, just hide down there and I'll pick you up later. Good luck." Naruto said and left Lee with two of his clones to help him go down the manhole.

Naruto went back to the stadium, he needed help. Although he could find Gaara and Kabuto on his own, he didn't believe he could deal with both of them alone, not plausibly so. There would be questions later of what he did, and more importantly –how he did what he did, so he had to conceal his true skills yet again. It was frustrating to have to hide his true powers, but he wasn't stupid. His time would come.

On the way back, he got ambushed by four Sound ninjas who encircled him on the roof of a building near the stadium.

"Look what's come our way guys!" One of them, maybe a few years older than Naruto, said.

"A live target!" Another snickered, hefting a chain and spiked metal ball on it's end.

"You took the word from my mouth." Naruto chuckled viciously as his palms rose sideways, blue white ligtning bolts spearing two of his would be killers. But they didn't stay with them, instead they jumped on their comrades making a bizzare scene where four Sound shinobi were twitching and jerking in the air comically while their bodies were being literally cooked by the high voltage currents.

After a minute, Naruto dropped his palms and four corpses thudded on the roof. Naruto smiled and sighed in relief. At least he got to blow some steam off in the end.

He reached the stadium quickly and carefully picked his way between combatants, using the Force to make everyone ignore his presence. He found Kabuto's ANBU mask and chuckled softly, that guy sure did make it easy for him.

He found Kakashi cutting a bloody swathe trough attacking ninjas, and Naruto had to give him props for the sheer skill and ease with which he killed them. He actually looked bored.

"Kakashi sensei!" He yelled at him to draw his attention.

"Yo Naruto, what's up?" Kakashi said and killed another stupid ninja trying to sneak up on him.

"I need your help, Gaara-san is taken by that traitor Kabuto out of the combat zone. He plans to heal him so he could unleash his biju on Konoha!"

"Where is Sasuke?" Kakashi asked as he couldn't see his other pupil anywhere.

"He's in another part of the village, with Lee." Naruto said, deciding against telling him about Sasuke's condition. There were greater concerns now.

"All right. So what's this?" Kakashi asked as he noticed the mask in Naruto's hand.

"This is Kabuto's mask, he was pretending to be one of the ANBU. I think your summons may use it to get his scent."

"You're right. Summoning!" Kakshi said and brought forth Pakkun, a small deep voiced pug.

"Hey Kakashi, what's the emergency?"

"I need you to track this scent Pakkun, fast." Kakashi said and gave him the mask to sniff at.

"Reeks of snakes." Pakkun said with disgust. "But I can follow his trail. Follow me!"

In the end they picked up two extra people, Shino and Shikamaru who were done with Gaara's siblings. But their little troupe had to part their ways soon.

"I smell seven, no eight shinobi behind us Kakashi." Pakkun said in worried tone. "And they seem to be heading straight for us."

"Hm, Kabuto must've called for back up." Kakashi mused. "There will be at least one jounin to aid them."

"So, who's going to stop them?" Naruto asked as they were running through thick treetops, the whole area in a intersected by shafts of bright sunlight. It made a for confusing battleground, at least for those unused to Konoha's environment.

"I'll stay and stop them." Shikamaru said, while it was clear he hated the idea. "Stopping Gaara and this Kabuto guy will be hard enough as it is, and I doubt that I'd be of any help there."

"True, Kabuto claimed to be as good as Kakashi sensei." Naruto said in turn, hiding his surprise at Shika's courage.

Kakashi looked at Shikamaru and sighed, he too understood what was on stake. But he didn't like it at all.

"I will help Nara-san." Shino said calmly. "It is only logical, we can set a double layered trap for those behind us. We can pull it of."

That seemed to mollify Kakashi's misgivings about sending two relatively inexperienced genin in a unknown combat situation.

"Very well, but make sure to get the jounin in the end. He is your biggest concern."

"Hai, hai." Shikamaru grunted still unbelieving of his own actions. Shino followed after him silently, and soon they were all alone. That didn't make Shikamaru feel any better.

It didn't take too long before their pursuers made themselves known. They were supposed to anyway.

Eight men in bland gray uniforms and with Sound headbands emerged from shadows looking for their quarry, and Shikamaru acted quickly. His shadow snagged theirs easily, there were shadows aplenty around.

"Huh? I can't move !" One Sound nin said and others grew alarmed as well. They saw Shikamaru then.

"So this is the famous Shadow Capture jutsu of the Nara clan." The oldest among them sneered.

"It's called the Shadow Imitation now." Shikamaru said, his body showing some strain as he struggled to hold all of them still.

"Whatever, you're running out of chakra already. And when you do, you're dead." The Sound nin growled.

"I think not." Shino spoke calmly as his bugs descended on them and they started to scream loudly as they were being sucked dry by chakra eating insects.

Then a figure flashed between Shino and Shikamaru, in more colorful clothes, but still unmistakably a Sound ninja. He slashed contemptuously at them with his kunais, cutting them across their throats. They fell down clutching their wounds, and the jounin sneered.

"A couple of brats managed to kill a group of idiots." He said as he watched other Sound nins trash on the ground. He was to move, to catch up with other Konoha ninjas, but found himself paralysed.

"Correction, we are about to kill some idiots." Shikamaru said as he was holding his hands in a sign for his jutsu.

"You...how?" The jounin asked as he struggled to move.

"We knew there was a jounin with these incompetents, so we set a double trap. What you killed were Shino's Bug Clones, while we were hidden behind them with a genjutsu."

"Indeed, my sensei is not called the Genjutsu Mistress for nothing." Shino said and a part of shadows came alive, becoming a mass of chittering insects that overtook the form of the hapless ninja from the Sound village. Their hunger was substantial since their master had to expand some of his own chakra to create that genjutsu.

Shikamaru sat in the ground and sighed in relief. He only hoped that Naruto and Kakashi were sucessful.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

Naruto and Kakashi were following Pakkun for several minutes as the nin-dog scented after Gaara and Kabuto.

"We're getting close Kakashi," Pakkun said, "they're straight ahead of us."

"Good, you can leave us now and thanks." Kakashi said as he stopped running. He turned to look at Naruto who was standing on the tree branch next to his.

"We must make a plan Naruto. While Kabuto is dangerous, Gaara is even more. I'm not certain I can stop him, not with Kabuto lying in ambush."

Naruto grinned. "You just take care of that traitor, I'll deal with Gaara."

"Are you sure you can?"

"I was trained by Jiraya for this, he had known it would be necessary. I can use Kyuubi's chakra for some special jutsus."

"I see, that's certainly a surprise. I didn't know he was back. But then, he must've known that secrecy was paramount. Ok, you take care of Gaara and I'll draw Kabuto away. Be careful."

Naruto nodded and they slowly made their way towards their opponents.

Kabuto was hidden somewhere around Gaara's position, Naruto sensed him slowly stalking through treetops to get behind them, while Gaara was already in half-beast form, the sand was covernig the left half of his body. His left hand was now sporting grotesque sand claws,and he had a tail. His head was also half covered with sand, his left eye was now yellow pupil on a black background. His mind was barely hanging in there as Shukaku's rage and insanity were being unleashed, making Gaara absolutely berserk.

"He's already begun to transform, we must stop him." Kakashi stated, and moved to the left in an obvious flanking move.

Naruto took the hint and started going to the left, all the while sensing Kabuto sneaking behind Kakashi's back. But he also sensed that Kakashi knew about it, so he focused on Gaara.

"Come Uzumaki, Mother wants your blood!" Gaara snarled, spittle flew from his mouth. His powerful body tensed and he made a giant leap at Naruto. Naruto met him half way and hit him in the hip, sending him aside. He used that kick to bounce onto another tree.

He saw Kakashi duck from Kabuto's deadly palms, and was satisfied to see two jounin level ninjas too busy to look at him. He made ten Shadow Clones who mobbed Gaara for a moment, before they were destroyed by his savage sand appendages. He made a mocking face at the enraged Sand jinchuriiki and retreated deeper in the forest. He grinned as he heard Gaara roar and follow him.

He spent next few minutes stopping to attack Gaara from ambushes, using mainly Shadow Clones to distract the monstrous genin, while he cast careful Force illusions to hide his sneaky assaults.

Gaara responded predictably, smashing everything in the vicinty to bits, but to no avail. Naruto was almost never really close to Gaara, or he used the Force to shield himself from his powerful wind attacks. He was busy pushing at Gaara's mind, to increase his rage and madness which in turn made Gaara loose any semblance of sanity-he was now fully transformed into a mini Shukaku, his whole body was now made of sand.

That's where Naruto attacked, for real. He moved at full speed, his whole being resonating in the Force like a powerful lightning rod. His very skin was buzzing with power, and he had full control over his chakra.

Gaara saw only occasional distorted afterimages, as Naruto's powerful fists and feet thundered into his body. He felt pain inside himself and to his shock, he was bleeding again despite how much of Shukaku's chakra he used.

In truth, Naruto was actually having a grand time as he was running through the world slowed down to a crawl. Gaara's movement was so slow, he seemed moving at a quarter of his speed.

He would close in and deliver focused palm strikes to Gaara's demonic skin, sending concentrated bursts of Force shock waves that rippled below that sand and into Gaara's real flesh. It was an idea Naruto took from Hyuuga's Jyuuken-instead of chakra, he used raw telekinetic energy channeled through his palms in a certain area. Effectively, he was bypassing external defenses and ripping at soft insides. Gaara only survived because Shukaku's chakra strenghtened him above normal, and it healed him fast too. But the problem was, Naruto was not stopping-he was adding damage faster than it healed.

Naruto switched attacks, he focused again and dashed in a blur at Gaara and kicked him in the air, then he unleashed a powerful torrent of the Force Lightning. Gaara screamed for the second tme in his life, as powerful electricity ripped at his bleeding insides-sand did nothing to block the attack, it just served to spread it wider and to actually heat up. Gaara was being electrocuted and burned at once.

"You're a joke," Naruto spat contemptuously at the fallen red headed genin who was lying on the ground, looking shocked and in pain. "You're slow, you have no strength save for what your biju gives you. And even that is pitiful, you could have been so much more if you actually bothered to train. All that natural healing and resistance to pain and injury, what a waste. To think that we are cut from the same cloth, you disgust me."

"No, I won't die here! I will prove my existence!" Gaara screamed suddenly and his chakra spiked.

"Huh, this might be actually fun." Naruto commented as he stared up above, where Gaara stood on top of the huge sand creature, now taller than any tree or building in Konoha.

"Die Uzumaki!" Gaara snarled and his sand beast stretched it's monstrous paw to grab the Sith.

Naruto sped away, leading the monster after waves of sand flew after Naruto, like an angry sea storm. The whole forest shook with the raging sand, trees were being swept aside like toothpicks. But Naruto was still free.

Gaara stopped his charge and peered around, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"Come out you bastard!" Gaara yelled. "I'll attack your pitiful village if you don't!"

In response, Naruto scoffed as he was hiding under Force based illusion. As if he cared about the village. But that was a part of his plan. He watched as Gaara turned around and went to Konoha.

Naruto followed, careful to stay hidden. When he deemed they were close enough, he gathered some of Kyuubi's chakra and performed the summoning. A huge toad appeared below him, carrying a huge shield and a trident. It landed behind Gaara with a loud booming noise and earth shook under it's titanic weight.

"Naruto-san, is it time?" The toad warrior asked as it watched Gaara on it's massive sand beast.

"Yeah Gamaken, it's that time. Let's roll!" Naruto said.

Naruto learned how to summon toads from Jiraya and he proved to the man he could summon them relatively easy with concentrated bursts of Kyuubi's chakra, which he was able to use as per agreement with the biju in his gut.

Naruto managed to get Gamabunta's approval as the next summoner, since he passed the Toad Chief's test. Naruto managed to summon other toads, Gamaken amongst those.

Gamaken was pretty much the best toad to summon, he had little personality and was a bit slow in the head, but was very agile and strong, and most importantly-obedient.

He attacked with his giant trident, driving it's tips in the belly of the sand monster under Gaara's control.

Gaara and his beast were driven back, crushing countless trees and making a large disturbance all around. Their counte attack was a feeble attempt to smother the huge toad with sand, but the toad jumped quickly over them, landed in crouch and speared them again. It withdrew it's spear and started to use it as a quarterstaff, batting the sand beast all over.

Gaara saw he was getting beat up yet again, and laughed wildly.

"Ahaha, Uzumaki! You're amusing-Mother will love your blood!" He screamed and performed his last jutsu for the day, the Forced Sleep Technique.

"Gamaken, retreat!" Naruto ordered as he sensed the beast within Gaara awaken.

It was true. The biju inside Gaara took control over it's form, becoming more agile and loud.

"Wee, I'm free gain!" It squealed in surprisingly human, but high piched voice. It zeroed on Naruto and Gamaken, it's bloodlust rising. "And I have things to kill!"

Shukaku started to shoot huge blasts of wind at Gamaken who dodged around quickly, lest he got injured. Those blasts shook the whole forest and tore it apart. This battle of titanic beasts lasted for some time, until Naruto decided to end it.

"Gamaken, can you rush him? I need to get to Gaara, if I can take care of him, Shukaku will be gone."

"I'll try Naruto-san, get ready." Gamaken said and charged at the crazy biju.

Shukaku wasn't expecting this, and his counterattack was too late. His blast of wind missed the toad that slammed into Shukaku with it's shield, and pushed the monster backwards. Naruto chose that moment to use the Shunshin to transport himself next to sleeping Gaara.

Gaara was asleep and virtually Shukaku sensed the danger and it's sand tried to grab onto Naruto who blasted it away with telekinetic shockwave. His hand flashed, his tanto's metal blade glimmered silver.

It was a moment of utter silence, even Shukaku was still as death.

Blood dripped on it's head, and Gaara's head separated from it's neck. Naruto's cut was perfect.

"Noooo!" Shukaku raged as his body was falling apart. Naruto felt Shukaku's chakra fade, like mist's dew evaporating from the grass under the sun. The monster was gone, like a bad dream.

Gamaken caught Naruto in his webbed hand and set him down on the ground.

"Thanks Gamaken, you did good." Naruto said to the summon.

"Okay, I'm going back Naruto-san." Gamaken said and vanished in a gigantic puff of smoke.

With Gamaken gone, Naruto started to walk towards Gaara's corpse. His head was further from it and Naruto studied it. He shook his head, not in mourning but in something akin to a pity. Gaara was a waste of power, a waste of what might have been one of the most powerful people in the world. A waste of potential.

"Are you okay Naruto?" Kakashi said as he appeared next to his student. He was watching the last part of the battle and he saw it all.

"I'm fine, just exhausted. I lost quite a lot of my chakra."

"You can rest now, the fight is over and things in the village are under control."

"What happened with Kabuto?"

"I won, he managed to escape. He has some amazing regenerative powers." Kakashi said feeling disgruntled that his opponent survived. He would make sure to decapitate that arrogant kid next time.

"So, he wasn't on your level." Naruto grinned.

"No, but he was damn close. But enough about that, let's head back to the village."

"Sure." Naruto shrugged and slowly started the journey back.

When Sasuke awakened, he was on fire. His blood was boiling, his whole body was filled with incredible chakra that made him feel so alive, so powerful.

And then security seals kicked in and put a lid on it, and Sasuke felt as if someone slammed him in the head with a hammer.

His next awakening was awful, he felt so empty. And his head was fuzzy, his mouth were dry.

He wanted to close his eyes and sleep until his illness was gone. But he fought this weakness and stayed awake. He felt a distant pain in his left shoulder, as if someone stabbed him there.

He was stabbed!

As Sasuke shot up in a sitting position, he grabbed for his shoulder and saw only a strange tattoo. It looked like his Sharingan tomoes, just three large commas sitting there.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she got up from her seat next to Sasuke's bed.

"Sakura, what happened?"

Sakura stopped checking over her idol and looked him in the eye. "Don't you remember? We were under attack."

Sasuke paused. "I remember something was going on, but there was...someone stabbed me in the shoulder and it hurt. Was I poisoned?"

Sakura nodded. "I think so, sensei wouldn't talk to me about it, nor would doctors. You were unconscious for days. We found you hidden in a manhole with Rock Lee who was watching you."

"What? How dd I get there with him?"

"Er, Naruto left you there. He was getting you both to safety, but he was afraid that the hospital was under attack, which was true. Luckily the ANBU knew about it and managed to protect it."

"I see. He left us there and did what?"

" He went and joined with sensei to hunt down the man who poisoned you. It was that Kabuto person."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes angrily.

Sakura gulped, she felt Sasuke's chakra spike up. "Uh, yes. Sensei defeated him and he managed to run away. Naruto fought that Gaara maniac and killed him. It was gross, Ino pig said that they brought Gaara's body in pieces."

Sasuke bowed his head in thought, his fists clenched angrily below sheets. He was useless while that bastard went and defeated his opponent.

"Where is he?"

"Who Sasuke-kun?" Sakura spoke in confusion.

"Naruto." Sasuke explained patiently.

"Oh, he's gone already. Apparently he got Jiraya of the Sannin to train him over the last month, so they became friends. I think they went together on a mission of sorts, but I can't say exactly what it is."

Sasuke's heart sped up, his blood pressure made him see red. Jiraya of the Sannin trained Naruto while he was away with sensei! He suddenly realized that Kakshi wasn't with them.

"Sakura, where is Kakashi sensei?"

Sakura was mute.

Sasuke felt dread. "Sakura?"

"He's in the room next to yours." Sakura explained in a small voice.

"What happened?"

"Some missing nins managed to enter the village, we 're still recovering from the 've been asleep for a while."

"Tell me what happened, in order." Sasuke demanded.

"Er, okay. You did great in your battle Sasuke-kun, and then it all went bad. Kabuto-san cast a wide area genjutsu and poisoned you. Sound and Sand ninjas attacked. It was pretty bad, but our side was holding up.

"The Third fought with Orochimaru who was disguised as the Kazekage. There was a barrier on the roof of the stadium, nobody could pass through it. Naruto and sensei went after Gaara and Kabuto, you and Lee were safe.

"I was in the spectator's area with Ino, Choji and Tenten, Hinata-san was close too but she became ill and was taken away by medics. When the attack went off, we were joined by some other ninjas from our village and we helped defend some civilians fleeing to secure zones. I heard Iruka sensei made himself quite a hero when he defended the academy from attackers."

Sasuke hned and Sakura continued to describe the attack, not that she saw much of it.

"When it was over, we were al relieved. That's when we heard that the Third was dead. He hurt Orochimaru badly, but he died doing it. We buried him two days ago."

Sasuke was mute, even shocked. The Third Hokage was the leader of Konoha for so long that almost no one could imagine the village without him. Sasuke remembered the man being present in his life all the time, a living legend who was respected by all. Even his father never spoke ill of the man, at least not in presence of others.

"Anything else?" Sasuke managed to ask, despite being overwhelmed by this.

"No, not really. We're doing just fine actually. You're fine too now." Sakura smiled.

"I want to leave." Sasuke said and attempted to do so. But an ANBU at his room's entrance convinced him it would be unwise to actually do it.

"It would be best if you stayed put Uchiha-san." The agent without identity spoke in hollow tone. "You were exposed to an unknown substance, and your health is still endangered."

"And my health warrants the ANBU guard?"

"You're the last Uchiha and tensions with the Sand village are still high. Uzumaki san killed the son of the Fourth Kazekage, and we believe that it could cause retaliation. Even without that, you're Orochimaru's target. His people could try and make a move against you while we're so exposed."

"My sensei, how is he?"

"He's still incapacitated. But we sent for an expert so sit tight and wait. That's all we can do at the moment." The agent explained the looked at Sakura. "Genin, your concern for your teammate is laudable, but it would be best if you left him to recuperate. He doesn't need more bad news."

"Hai ANBU san," Sakura bowed and shot Sasuke a regretful smile. "Get better soon Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke received another visitor, late in the night. It was the so called 'ghost shift' for the hospital staff. Moonlight snaked between shutters of Sasuke's room, casting a pale pattern on the floor.

Sasuke wasn't asleep, he was thinking about the invasion. How he was useless, thrown in a hole with that green clad idiot. It was all Naruto's idea of a joke, a message meant to tell how weak he was.

He heard silent footsteps and glanced at the door. A shadow entered, then became more visible.

"Good evening young Sasuke." The man said. Sasuke saw an old man, older than his father yet something in his stance said that thsi man had power. The fact he passed that ANBU guard unchallenged proved it. He had his face covered in bandages, his neck and arm too-it was placed in a sling below his kimono. Hi other hand held a long cane.

"You know me, but who are you?" Sasuke asked.

"Shimura Danzo, that's my name." Danzo smiled slightly.

"What do you want?"

"A talk that is long overdue young man, as to what happens later-it will be your choice."

"What is this about?"

"You know already what I am talking about." Danzo eyed Sasuke sharply. "Your brother has proven to be quite a threat to our village, again."

"What?" Sasuke hissed in surprise.

"Hmm, you haven't been told, have you? It was your brother who put down your sensei with his vile dojutsu. I suppose your friend was worried about your reaction, so she kept quiet."

"My brother was in Konoha? Why?" Sasuke demanded answers.

"We don't have a clue. He's a madman and who can say what such a man wants. Still, that pointed out that Uchiha Itachi is our enemy who must be disposed of at any cost."

"What is that to you? I will deal with Itachi, personally."

"I'm sure you intend to do it, so I want to offer assistance. Your goal is to kill him, and I'm quite happy to help-after all it will help keep Konoha safe. And that is my goal, that this village remains safe and supreme over other villages."

"I see." Sasuke said.

"No, you don't." Danzo cut him off, but smiled nonetheless. "But you will one day. You may not be aware, but I had once a teammate who was of your clan. Uchiha Kagami was a good comrade of many years and loyal Konoha nin too. He must be rolling in his grave now, with his clan so dishonored and betrayed."

Sasuke just stared at Danzo blankly.

Danzo merely shrugged in reponse. "Anyway, you're the only one who can beat your brother. Hatake Kakashi's failure to defeat him is a clear pointer to that fact. Despite his own mastery over the Sharingan, it still wasn't enough. Itachi's eyes were still too strong. I want to offer my training, my resources to strengthening you. For our common purpose that is."

"And what can you give me when I have Kakashi sensei?"

Danzo smiled oily. The brat was willing to talk, so he was already half way in his net.

"I can help you more than your sensei. Forgive me for saying this, but Hatake-san is a genius ninja who rarely appear in our world. He was fightin on the fields of battle when he was a child, and he grew to be a great ninja. No disrespect there, but he is not really a teacher. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but some ninjas simply are unable to pass on their genius and experience onto others. It's not in their nature."

"I would disagree, he taught me much in the last few weeks." Sasuke said, looking for more information.

"Huh, all he did was to let you use your eyes to learn faster. That's all. And with Orochimaru's cursed seal it will be a while before you get anything else out of him."

"What cursed seal?" Sasuke asked in worry.

"The one on your shoulder," Danzo pointed with his cane and smiled."No need to worry about it, Hatake-san sealed it already so you can use your chakra normally."

"What is the purpose of Orochimaru's seal?"

"There are two actually. The first is to grant you more power by letting you draw on it, while ultimately it's meant to draw you to Orochimaru so you would become his next host."

"What?" Sasuke looked at Danzo like he was mad.

"You heard me. Orochimaru plans to use you as his next body. He revealed it to Hiruzen, that he had succeeded in achieving his dream to be immortal. Only he has to jump to new bodies every three years. He has chosen you to be his newest host."

Sasuke's face grew disgusted.

"Ah, you see it then. Good. Orochimaru will promise you anything to lure you to his side so he could take your body away from you. He has always coveted your bloodline."

"Unlike most of our comrades, I believe that any tool we have is supposed to be used. Your seal is dangerous, but it's also your new tool to achieve your goal. You'll see that your sensei will not want you to use it, in fear of going to Orochimaru for more."

"You're saying you would have me use it."

"Indeed, in fact I can help you develop it to it's fullest level without Orochimaru's interference."

"How?"

"I lead a secret organization within ANBU, we're called the ROOT. We were founded by the Second Hokage for the most secret missions that can't be connected to Konoha. Our job is to make sure Konoha survives no matter what. You could say that we're ANBU within ANBU since many of it's members are also ROOT members."

"I never knew that." Sasuke blinked in surprise.

"Of course you don't. Only myself, it's members and a few select ninjas besides our Hokage whoever he /she may be at the moment are supposed to know. Regular ANBU's are too exposed, too much known. But we aren't and we are true tools of order and peace. We exist unknown, willing to sacrifice ourselves for our home and country. We're not an exception, every village has similar elite organizations."

"And?" Sasuke prompted.

"We offer our knowledge at your disposal. We know more jutsus and combat styles than Kakashi-san will ever know or be willing to teach you about. I had you watched as you train with him, he coddles you out of misplaced sympathy and he underestimates your capacity for learning. Join my organization, and I will show you a true path to strength. I will inflict pain upon you, I will hurt you-to make you stronger than ever. I will teach you, until you've mastered everything this village can offer. And trust me, I know things that even Orochimaru doesn't. I was once a candidate for the position of the Third Hokage too."

"Why didn't you become the Third?" Sasuke asked as his eyes searched for lies on Danzo's face.

"Hiruzen always had quicker hands than me, if only slightly so." Danzo replied smoothly, his mouth twitching as if he was hearing a good joke.

"You speak as if you were his friend." Sasuke noted.

"I was, we were always strong rivals and competed for positions of power. Our philosphy was the same, only our methods were different. He was always the soft one, I never flinched from the fact that we ninjas are killers, pure and simple. To get the job done, do whatever is necessary. That's my motto. Hiruzen and his ilk liked to think that it's important to look nice and civilized as you waged a war. More often than not, he rather accepted compromises than combat. And see where it led him, to be killed by his beloved student who was an ungrateful wretch who forgot who was it that made him strong and powerful in the first could have killed orochimaru back then, but he was too faint hearted for that. Your brother forgot that too-he killed those who made him strong, who blessed him with gifts of your blood and instructed him how to use them. Both deserve to die for that, don't you think?"

"What is your plan?" Sasuke asked coldly.

Danzo smiled internally. He had him. "Recover, train for the next exam and ace it. As a chunin you will be able to apply for ANBU. Kakashi won't be able to stop you, so just go ahead. No one will be surprised, it is next logical step for you. I'll make sure you get together with my men and your real training will begin. I warn you, this is one way street-once you're in, you can't back out and live. Konoha's security demands so. In five years at the most, you will be strong enough to challenge your brother."

"Five years?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

Danzo just shrugged. "I can't just wave a magic wand and make you that good. It has to be earned in blood, experience and patience. Orochimaru would tell you three years, and would hold you back-he just needs you in good shape so he can take your body. After all, if he makes you too strong, you could escape."

Sasuke considered Danzo's proposal and knew something was off, but the offer was tempting. And he was right, Kakshi was lazy and sporadic with his lessons, he only got serious when there was serious danger ahead.

And Orochimaru? He somehow understood what Danzo meant. And there was no way he'd risk possession by the snake freak. He was an Uchiha, not someone's toy!

Still, he felt it would be too soon to accept Danzo's proposal. And another idea occured to him.

"Why did you come to me openly? If I say no now, your secrecy is moot."

Danzo chuckled in amusement. "My dear genin, did you really think that we are so careless? There are seals and jutsus to block certain memories. And this conversation is hardly a big chunk of your memory. So what do you say?"

"I'd like to think about it for a while."

"Very well, it's just fine. But don't take too long, this isn't a game."

Sasuke could only look as Danzo shuffled silently out of his room. He had much to consider. Especially since his brother was back again.

Danzo passed by the ANBU agent at the entrance to Sasuke's room, giving him a slight nod since he was one of his had many followers in Konoha who agreed with his views.

The talk with young Uchiha went rather well, since he was willing to listen to him. It did prove one thing-Uchiha Sasuke wanted power, badly. He saw the gleam of interest in his eyes when he spoke of his offer, and that was enough. Just like his whole family, the boy craved strength. He didn't even have to resort to Shisui's power.

Did he really intend to make good on his offer? He did, because it was in his interest too. Besides there were ways to ensure that the brat couldn't turn against him.

Danzo frowned angrily for a moment, he believed he was perhaps the only man in the village who truly understood how dangerous Konoha's czrrent position was.

The key was Uzumaki Naruto, the ultimate weapon that hadn't yet grown into it's full power. It was a mutual semi-hostage situation. Konoha needed it's jinchuriiki more than it was healthy for any hidden village, yet Naruto also needed Konoha's shelter and resources since some powerful people and other villages would do anything to get their hands on him.

With Sarutobi out of picture, Naruto was almost free agent. He had some loyalty for Hiruzen, but for the village itself-Danzo had some doubts. Naruto's status and life in Konoha left much to be desired for. Still, Jiraya might fix the situation, he was a very convincing man when necessary.

So he decided to stack the deck in his favor, for several purposes. To deny Orochimaru more power, to eliminate Itachi and to secure another joker versus potentially rebellious Kyuubi jailor.

Danzo didn't like the report on the battle between two jinchuriiki his men brought to him. Uzumaki Naruto totally outclassed the other container, and he was able to summon a giant toad with only a single short burst of Kyuubi's meant that Naruto was learning to access Kyuubi's chakra with Jiraya's help. Naruto was getting too powerful to be controlled easily.

Sasuke Uchiha was indeed lucky to be so needed.

* * *

**Hi guys and girls, thanks for reviews and I'm also happy to have so many mark my story as one of their favorites. Honestly, I can't complain since I'm also too lazy to write reviews sometimes. **

**Now, someone said that Lee using three gates against Kiba was way too much. I could agree that I overdid it, but I took it on the basis that Kiba wasn't weak, and his family was familiar with Gai's style. So he got some special training to give Kiba one helluva good fight. Lee had to use three gates because he wanted to end the fight quickly, decisively. And he didn't get injured too much, just a strained leg. Considering what five gates did to him, three gates were a safe bet.**

**You see I never liked how Kishi made Lee so desperate to prove himself in that epic battle with Gaara-to use potentially suicidal move just to win one single fight. I mean Lee was risking his whole ninja career just to beat one opponent, like there was no second or third chance to pass the exam later on. Gai came out as particularly stupid by letting Lee destroy himself over a test, not even a real mission where one can't surrender or give up.**

**As for the manga, Kishi's getting stupid. Madara is a what? A living jigsaw puzzle that needs to be reassembled correctly, Sasuke's becoming his little Darth Vadersque trooper full of hate and power, Kisame gave his life for no thanks from his Akatsuki buddies. Madara's new mask makes him look like a sore thumb-what's with his ever changing masks anyway? **

**Bring back Oro, he's the best villain there.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

Naruto was sitting in his room in Tanzaku town where Jiraya left him alone in the hotel while he went off with a young woman who seemed infatuated with the Toad Sage. Jiraya being the lecher couldn't pass up the chance to snag such a fine catch.

Naruto merely rolled his eyes in annoyance and went to the hotel to train in peace. He had to admit that this Rasengan jutsu was something else. He figured it out rather quickly much to Jiraya's embarrassment. Naruto smirked, he knew that the older man took much longer to learn the first step. To Naruto it was rather obvious-to explode the balloon he had to make multiple and opposing rotations of chakra to break the rubber shell, it was much like regular physics which he was quite familiar with.

But Naruto was also seeing in his mind's eye the possibilities of manipulating the shape of raw chakra-he now understood more how Sasuke and Kakashi made their Chidori work. Jiraya explained that Chidori was based on Rasengan's principles with nature manipulation added into the mix. In fact, Chidori was actually a failure in as many ways as it was a brilliant jutsu.

While it was almost unstoppable and deadly beyond belief, it required an enormous amount of chakra, the user had to get close to the target at insane speeds and that in turn made him vulnerable to the counterattack, it required a certain time to activate and it was damn loud. Assassination jutsu it wasn't-a guaranteed one hit and kill, if it hit, it was. And it required the Sharingan to deliver properly since the user had to move faster than he could normally track, he needed the Sharingan to see his target properly as it tried to dodge or block.

Not that Naruto needed that explained to him, he saw the jutsu ion action. He wasn't impressed. All it would take was to be faster than Sasuke, or to obstruct his view of his target and bye-bye. He could do both.

On the other hand, Rasengan trumped Chidori in almost everything. It required zero handseals and preparation time, it also guaranteed that the target would go down even if a glancing blow was delivered (Rasengan shredded and drilled upon contact) and it was relatively quiet when compared to most jutsus. Also, it required less chakra than Chidori since it was just a mass of raw non transformed chakra.

He sensed two powerful shinobi knocking on the door, but decided to ignore the duo who was following them for some time, since before they entered the town. They were obviously after him, he knew that in the depth of his soul.

Finally they lost patience and kicked the door in, tearing it from the frame. There was one tall, blue guy with shark like black eyes and teeth, he reeked of violence and desire to destroy, yet he wasn't stupid as he seemed to be. He just liked to kill things.

The second person was obviously Sasuke's murderous brother, the slayer of the Uchiha. Itachi was tall, but shorter than his friend by head's height, his Sharingan proudly blazing on his passive face.

"Hey brat, when someone knocks you should answer. That would spare you the trouble of paying for damages, he, he,he." Shark-face laughed viciously. "Itachi-san, he looks rebellious. Maybe I should cut off his legs, to make sure he wouldn't run?"

"That would be pointless Kisame, this is just a Shadow Clone." Itachi spoke monotonously. "It's quite obvious that Jiraya-sama detected us and made us chase ghosts."

"Can you guys go now?" Naruto's clone spoke in annoyed fashion, scowling. "I've been left here to tell you to back off. Jiraya sensei is willing to let you go this time, but he will not be so kind if you insist on pestering us. We have important stuff to do."

"Watch it brat! Clone or not, I don't take to kindly if some punk with no name talks down on me!" Kisame growled.

"Calm yourself Kisame, he's trying to bait us to go after him anyway. " Itachi spoke coldly.

"So what? We can take Jiraya." Kisame spoke with cold conviction.

"Perhaps we could, but it would most likely cost us our lives as well. No, this is over. Let's go." Itachi said and walked away.

Naruto shook his head in amusement-another dead end in their search for the elusive Fifth-to-be. And based on the places where Jiraya searched for Senju Tsunade, she was an obsessive gambler, a drunk and Kami knows what else. Perhaps her title "The Legendary Sucker" was one of double meaning...not very likely, Naruto concluded. She was old.

Naruto subtly searched every town through the Force, hoping to finish this stupid mission already. Meanwhile he busied himself with his Rasengan training which was pretty much at it's end.

"I'm hungry, let's eat in there." Jiraya half growled at Naruto, he was quite irritated with his failure to find his ex teammate.

They entered the restaurant across the street, and Jiraya paused at the entrance as he saw his quarry sitting at the booth on the right.

"Look, there she is!" Jiraya pointed for Naruto at the buxom blonde woman in her late twenties, or in early thirties. She had two short ponytails, a diamond tattoo in the middle of her creamy, smooth forehead. Her eyes were hazel almonds, her hair pale almost whitish in hue.

"Jiraya?" Tsunade asked, her voice incredulous yet not surprised in the end.

"Ho Tsunade, just the person I was looking for. I suppose it's fitting that I found you when I stopped looking." Jiraya said with a smile and sat at the booth with Naruto following. He looked at Tsunade's friend-much more plain looking brunette with average physique, pale skin and coal eyes. "Hi Shizune, you've grown."

"Hello Jiraya-sama." Shizune bowed slightly with respect.

"So, why did you look for me?" Tsunade asked, already feeling irritated. First that bastard Orochimaru, now this pervert.

"I've been sent by the Elders. The village needs a new leader, the Fifth Hokage." Jiraya anounced seriously. "They want you to become the next Hokage."

"I refuse." Tsunade said immediately.

"Tsunade, we need you. Sarutobi sensei is gone, killed by Orochimaru."

"I know. I've heard rumours." Tsunade said.

"I see. Orochimaru was here." Jiraya deduced. "What did he want?"

"To brag, as usual. He hasn't escaped unscathed from his last meeting with sensei." Tsunade informed Jiraya casually. "I told him the same as to you, I don't want to have anything with Konoha, ever again."

Jiraya nodded, he knew her reasons. "I'm hoping I could make you reconsider. I'll stick around, but I won't bother you too much."

"Like I said, fat chance of me accepting. Being Hokage is job for fools, it's death sentence. See what happened to all four of them." Tsunade spoke derisively, but Naruto felt her pain. It was understandable, all Hokages were her close family or friends. First two were her grandfather and his brother, the third was her sensei and the last was Jiraya's student, again someone she knew very well.

"Ha, look who's talking!" Naruto sent a jibe towards the woman whose real face he could see despite her henge. "Like it matters what rank you hold, we all die eventually. Just because someone is a Kage, that doesn't mean he's slated to die. If I remember correctly, Iwagakure no Sato still has only one Kage to this date."

"Who is this brat?" Tsunade glared at Jiraya.

"My newest apprentice, Uzumaki Naruto." Jiraya exclaimed proudly and clapped Naruto's shoulder. "He'll surpass my previous student for sure."

"He looks like he might-he's even uglier and stupider than him." Tsunade smirked in Naruto's direction.

"Now Tsunade, don't say that. Minato was quite intelligent and real charmer." Jiraya defended his deceased student.

"Don't defend me Ero-sensei. Her opinion hardly matters." Naruto spoke dismissively.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes dangerously. She was a bit tipsy, her emotions high with what happened earlier with Orochimaru. "Watch your mouth brat!"

"Or what?" Naruto stared her down. "Are you going to punish me? Lets see...I suppose you could force me to drink that disgusting sake of yours. Or will you pull down my trousers and give me some ass slappin'?"

Tsunade blinked in surprise, it was a long time since someone talked like that with her. She eyed him evilly then. "I accept! We'll have a drinking contest!"

"What?" Jiraya was startled. "Come on Tsunade, he's just a kid. There is no way he can take you."

"That's not my problem-he either drinks or I make him my punching toy, which will hurt him a lot more, I promise that. You're paying since he's your student." Tsunade grinned.

"Er... Tsunade-sama, what are the terms of the bet?" Shizune asked timidly. She knew her teacher will get herself sloshed anyway.

"Oh, that's right Shizune," Tsunade made a thinking face. "Uh, how about this-if I lose, I'll go to Konoha, ha,ha,ha!" Tsunade laughed knowing how improbable this was. Jiraya sagged in his seat feeling depressed.

"And if you win?" Naruto spoke calmly.

"I get all of your money, your headband and clothing-you'll have to go back naked, all the way. In fact, just to see that I'll follow you until we reach the village." Tsunade smiled should teach the brat not to mouth off to his betters.

Jiraya perked up a bit, maybe this won't be so bad. If she gets close to the village maybe she would consider staying a little bit. He had to convince her somehow, the village can't become Danzo's playground. Even if it meant that he would be the Fifth.

The waiter brought another bottle of sake, the good one-Jiraya winced a little, that would cost him. Although with Naruto, maybe two or three more would be enough.

Naruto smirked as he drank his cup. He watched Tsunade as she enjoyed herself, thinking she won already. Man, she was so easy to goad-he didn't even need the Force. Although, her idea of punishment/bet was pretty nasty, she had a wicked sense of humor. He shrugged internally, he wouldn't lose-his ability to detoxify himself via the Force was automatic. Any Jedi or Sith worth his saber was able to overcome most poisons on their own, given time. In case of alcohol ingestion, that was more than possible.

As bottles came and went, Tsunade was getting nervous. The brat was still sitting upright, his hands didn't shake and he looked bored. Bored!

"Well, well you seem to have quite a shtrong stomach, brat." She stated finally, her words somewhat moved over the table to peer closer at the genin, her boobs pressing on table-Jiraya was completely entranced by now, his eyes glassy as he went to his perv-fantasy-she eyed Naruto with suspicion. "You're not cheating, aren't you ?"

"Who, me?" Naruto lied. "I wouldn't know how to if I wanted to. I guess it's beacuse I'm a jinchuriiki, so I'm harder to put down."

"Hear, hear," Jiraya slurred slightly, while drinking his sake. "That is true. His stamina and regeneration are amazing, he can train harder than anyone I've met, except for that Gai kid."

Tsunade shivered slightly, she remembered that loud, green clad moron. She focused slightly and subtly shifted her chakra to purge some alcohol from her blood, but it was damn hard-she was already well drunk.

Naruto kept drinking, all the while putting a pressure on the older woman using her age against her-and the Force. Slowly, but inevitably Tsunade begun getting sick and Naruto pounced, causing her to sense vertigo and nausea more than she would in ordinary situation.

Tsunade burped suddenly and surged from her seat-she flew into the bathroom for ladies and threw up in the first sink she reached. Her convulsions stopped after some moments and she fell on her bottom, her illnes still with her.

"Tsunade-sama! Are you all right?" Shizune asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Tsunade spoke wincing. "Don't yell, my head is all swollen and it hurts. I cant believe that I was taken by that snotty brat."

Shizune didn't say anything. Tsunade sighed. "I guess I am getting old. This wouldn't have happened ten years ago."

"Are we going back then? You lost." Shizune said, hope mixed in her tone.

"I don' know..." Tsunade said, closing her eyes.

"You can't be thinking to help Orochimaru, he's a liar and murderer!"

"Me too Shizune, we're all liars and murderes." Tsunade said sadly. "That's what ninjas do."

"I'm going back sensei, and I'd like you to come too." Shizune said and left her alone.

Tsunade remained alone for a while, thinking about he past. Then she saw Naruto enter.

"Came to gloat,didn't you?"

"No. I have one question for you though." Naruto said, his voice cold and it gave Tsunade shivers.

"What is it?" She asked apprehensively.

"What was your grandmother's name?"

Tsunade froze. _He knows!_

"Well?" Naruto prompted.

Tsunade refused to be intimidated. "Why do you ask when you already have the answer? I suppose that Sarutobi-sensei couldn't keep his mouth shut."

"That's irrelevant. What is important is that you're my cousin, my last family. Where were you when I was alone, hungry and cold? Where were you when I was beaten, spat on, cursed with looks and words, almost killed several times?" Naruto's eyes radiated anger.

"I didn't know..." Tsunade tried to say something that would sound good, but there was no excuses. She knew who was he, even if she was long gone from Konoha.

"You were out there, drinking, gambling, and what not!" Naruto yelled at her. "I always believed I had no living family, no matter how remotely related we might have been. I guess that the Senju clan never thought much of the Uzumaki family. I suppose it's just fine. It could've been worse-I could've been an Uchiha. You...I release you from our bet. I don't want to see you in Konoha."

"Well, happy family gathering..." Tsunade sighed as Naruto stormed out.

"Tsunade, what happened? Why is Naruto so pissed?" Jiraya asked from outside. He knew better than enter in the bathroom.

"He is aware who was my grandmother, I mean Mito-sama." Tsunade said with grimace.

"Shit! How did he-damn sensei..." Jiraya muttered. "I'll talk to the kid, you better rest. We've got ways to go."

"He said he doesn't want me back in the village." Tsunade spoke wearily. She felt her stomach churn.

"Well, he can stuff it! Of all times he picked this moment to be an emotional basket case. I knew he was too cold to be real."

"What should I do? I admit I really didn't think of him at all, I mean I never saw him before.

He said some things..." Tsunade said with concern. Her motherly instncts were waking up in lieu of Orochimaru's perfidious offer and now a boy shows up, reminding her of Nawaki.

"What did he say?" Jiraya asked.

"He had it bad, didn't he? Jinchuriiki are never truly liked." Tsunade said with terrible foreknowledge.

Jiraya sighed sadly. "It was pretty awful. Sarutobi sensei managed to protect him from the worst, but not even he could make people accept him. There were few incidents, which strongly smelled of hidden assassination attempts, but nothing could be proven. Luckily Kakashi and some sane people were present. But civilians and many ninjas loathed him almost openly, barely hiding their feelings. He had no real friends until recently, but I think he realized how good he had it when he met Suna's container-that boy was driven mad by his own people, his family too."

"What happened?" Tsunade asked.

"They fought and Naruto killed him. He had to, Gaara of the Sand released his biju. Luckily I taught Naruto how to summon my toads. He summoned Gamabunta once, but for the fight he called Gamaken." Jiraya said with pride at the last.

"Did he now? He must feel awful to have killed the only person like him."

Jiraya nodded even though she couldn't see him. "I guess so, he said he had to do it. I think now that he wanted to set that boy free."

"You think too much," Tsunade snorted, "leave me alone now, I must recover from this embarrassment."

"Orochimaru-sama, watch out!" Kabuto yelled, trying to warn his master about Tsunade's intent to kill him. The Snake Sannin was fast, he slipped away from his ex-teammate, his snake irises narrowing in anger.

"So you decided to refuse my generous offer Tsunade. Why?"

"Shut up!" Tsunade growled, her fist crushing a big section of the stone wall next to her. She still had her monstrous strength, a legacy of her grandfather and bloodline. "You came here to mock my family, my pain. I won't let you get away with that!"

She lunged at him again, but Kabuto intercepted her, his nimble body obstructing Tsunade's charge. He instinctively slipped away from her murderous fists and followed his teacher across rooftops of the city.

"Watch out for her punches Kabuto, if she hits you once with her inhuman strngth, you're dead." Orochimaru hissed a warning to his protege. "Let's draw her away in the open, we'll be able to outmanoeuvre her with ample space on our disposal. She has grown old, slow-use it."

Kabuto was a good listener and did as instructed. Tsunade tried to hit him, but he danced around her and her misses left enormous craters and smashed boulders in their wake.

Kabuto dodged another powerful fist, slipped beneath it and brushed Tsunade's thigh with his chakra scalpel-she fell, grabbing her leg.

Kabuto smirked. "My chakra scalpel got you Tsunade-sama. I must admit I'm little disappointed, you were my idol for so long. The best med-nin in the world. Look at you now, one of the Sannin kneeling in front of little me."

To his shock, Tsunade simply healed her leg in seconds and rushed him again, this time with more care. They danced around each other, power versus speed. But Kabuto overestimated his abilities and Tsunade surprised him when she slipped behind his arm and touched his neck. He fell.

Tsunade smiled. "You talk big, but you can't deliver kid. Don't bother trying to get up, I hit you with a nerve disrupting pulse-all of your electric signals are scrambled. If you try to move one limb, it won't respond-the nerve impulse will go somewhere else."

To her surprise, Kabuto actually stood up slowly, his face a mask of intense concentration. He smiled too. "I have to move my opposite limbs then. It's time to end this." He slowly cut open his palm and flicked some blood at her, leaving her in paralyzed shock.

Kabuto laughed evilly. "Fortunately, Orochimaru-sama informed me of your fear of blood. A truly devastating weakness for our profession, don't you agree?"

Kabuto went to kill Tsunade, but moved aside in the last second as a hail of shuriken passed through his spot.

"Oh, more pest to crush." Kabuto sneered at Naruto and Shizune who went to protect her teacher.

"Oh, it's you." Naruto recognized Kabuto. "I heard that Kakashi sensei gave you a fair beating. So much for being on the same level as Copy ninja."

Kabuto snorted. "I was just stalling him. Honestly, who'd have thought you'd be able to kill that little psycho?"

Naruto eyed Jiraya exchanging poor hits and blocks with Orochimaru, he saw it was an even fight. He blocked Kabuto's foot that was aimed at his head, then tried to hamstring it, but Kabuto retreated.

"Nice reflexes Naruto-kun."

"Drop dead asshole." Naruto growled and took out his two tanto blades. He was at Kabuto instantly, expertly wielding his blades, always making sure that one was ready to defend his body from Kabuto's chakra scalpels.

Kabuto moved fast, sweating somewhat-Uzumaki was surprisingly quick, much more than a genin should. But that was to be expected, he was Konoha's hidden weapon. His suspicions were being confirmed- the old Hokage must've given the brat extra training, but no one could tell. Until now. Orochimaru-sama would want to know that.

Naruto smiled inwardly, he was reading the gray haired teen like an open book. Kabuto was realizing how skilled he was and was in process of concluding that he was trained in secret for years. Luckily, Sarutobi was dead and no one could refute such claims.

Naruto ducked Kabuto's palm, swung his tanto to cut it and Kabuto retracted his limb while swinging his other hand from high to get his shoulder. Naruto let it come knowing the right moment it would connect-he swung his tanto at the same time, impaling Kabuto's palm on his shoulder.

Blood spurted out of his back and front, covering Kabuto's palm. Naruto lifted his left arm despite the disastrous and painful injury, grabbed Kabuto by his pinned limb and jerked him forward, using the Force to lift him of the ground. A blue orb sprang in his empty palm, and Naruto swung it at Kabuto's chest.

It happened too fast for anyone to react, the Rasengan drilled into Kabuto shredding his bones and flesh, spurting blood everywhere. Naruto's face was a red gory mask of death.

_MOVE! _ The Force screamed at Naruto, and he twisted his body thus avoiding a long sharp sword that was aimed at his heart, it hit him in the other shoulder. It was Orochimaru's poisoned Kusanagi, The Grass Cutter. Unbelievably sharp, deadly poisonous mystical blade grated against Naruto's sholder joint as Orochimaru tore it out.

"You...you will be trouble if I let you live." Orochimaru hissed and raised his sword again with his tongue, his eyes full of hate and fear. Naruto saw Jiraya move to intercept Orochimaru, but he wouldn't be on time.

Naruto glared at the man, cursing him, because he would have to use his powers in open. Kyuubi's chakra! He pulled on it and his body exploded in red flames that forced Orochimaru to hesitate a bit-Naruto seized the red energy and thrust his hand at Orochimaru's body.

Red claw rushed at the Sannin who dodged quickly, and Naruto kept the shroud of chakra around him. He parried Orochimaru's blows for a few seconds, ignoring shallow cuts that healed almost instantly.

The Snake Sannin saw Jiraya getting close and hissed angrily. He stabbed again, this time too fast to be avoided. Naruto keeled as the sword gutted him, knowing that Orochimaru was going to finish him off-he got ready to blast the freak with the most powerful mind attack that would leave him in catatonic state for a while.

But it wasn't necessary, Orochimaru was suddenly blasted of his feet by Tsunade's fist.

"Why? How?" Orochimaru hissed in surprise,"your fear of blood..."

"It's gone. I guess seeing you gut this idiot who reminds me of someone who meant so much to us both once, and that chakra...nevermind. I am the Fifth Hokage of Konoha and you will not touch my people." Tsunade said and sent a huge wave of killing intent. "Will you challenge me? I could use some exercize."

"That's with me too!" Jiraya said hotly, standing next to Naruto who was finished regenerating. "You okay kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto said and stood up shakily. It wasn't easy to shrug off such injuries, even for him

"This isn't over." Orochimaru hissed and sank underground.

"So, you're the Fifth now." Jiraya said to Tsunade who was being fussed over by Shizune.

"I guess I am. You may still call me by name, but only in it?" Tsunade said raising her fist to his face. "Or I'll remind you of what I'm really capable of."

"Whatever you say!" Jiraya said quickly retreating, he still remembered when she boke his arms and ribs and...better not to think on that too much.

Shizune smiled and winked at Naruto who sighed. He should've blasted Orochimaru anyway-who in their sane mind would let an enemy run freely?


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

Jiraya was making various symbols and spiral patterns sloppily with his spoon, his soup cold and half eaten. His mind was clearly elsewhere, which was strange-he was in the presence of the most beautiful woman in the world, by his own admission no less.

That woman was irritated with him, that's why she scowled and hit him under the table, making him grunt in pain.

"What the hell is eating you, pervert? You've been unnaturally silent for the last few hours." Tsunade growled, her eyes glinting with deadly light.

"Sorry Tsunade, I was just thinking about Naruto." Jiraya answered.

Tsunade looked quickly around, the place they were at wasn't too crowded. It was one of those old roadhouses where weary travelers could stay for a night, drink and dinner included. The place was a sort of tavern/restaurant hybrid on the lower floor, while the upper floor was reserved for rooms and baths.

This one wasn't an exception. Wood was the theme, in all of it's brown and black variety, white stone walls and candles just completed the rustic interior.

A few groups also were down, eating and laughing, some were quiet and minding their own businesses, which suited the two ninja legends just fine-they weren't interested in being recognized.

Tsunade looked at her old friend again. "What about him? He's fine, I've checked him out and he's healthy, beyond healthy even."

"That's not it, it's what he did back at the Tanzaku." Jiraya explained.

"What? He offed that obnoxious four eyes, boy I'm so glad he won't be high nosing about anymore! I only wish I did that, I'd have torn his balls off first." Tsunade said vehemently.

Jiraya shuddered slightly, Tsunade was still as bad tempered as she used to be, and her strength was still there to back it up. "That's not what I meant, he survived Orochimaru's attempt to kill him."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "What is it you're saying? I saw it too, and honestly,the brat survived only because he had that thing healing him. Orochimaru was making a meat salad out of him."

Jiraya stared at her flatly. "I'm talking about the first assault when Orochimaru came at him from behind, at full speed. He may have had his arms neutered, but his legs were just fine. Think, Naruto somehow dodged the attack meant to impale him through the heart. From Orochimaru at full throttle, aiming for a kill. How did he get to dodge, even if it was partial?"

"Luck?" Tsunade tried to offer an acceptable answer. "He seems to have good senses and survival instinct."

"That he does, but this was something else. He moved without hesitation just as Orochimaru was about to hit him with Kusanagi, it was deliberate. It was like he knew without looking that he had to move."

"Okay, that is just a coincidence. I say that brat was very, very lucky. Hell, even killing that Kabuto kid was lucky, although I gotta say he went about it in a very creative, if self mutilating fashion."

Jiraya shook his head in exasperation. "I'm telling you, it was something else."

"And how could you tell?" Tsunade challenged.

"Because Minato was the same."

There was a pregnant pause while Tsunade processed the sentence.

"Explain." She said and she was asking like a Kage would. This was serious.

Jiraya sighed, he never liked remembering his most brilliant student. It was too painful.

"He was a brilliant young kid, only ten years old when we met. I knew at once he would be something else, something that no one has ever seen before."

"I know he was smart, I knew him too." Tsunade said.

"No," Jiraya said shaking his head,"this was different. He understood things instinctively, and his reflexes in combat were unparalleled. When I started to teach him and his friends, well I was pretty new at this teacher stuff so I didn't really notice. It only came to my attention couple of years later when we sparred during our training trip."

"How so?"

Jiraya chuckled while remembering. "I meant to teach him a valuable lesson, since he was so cocky about his skills. I had him cover his eyes and defend himself from me and my clones. He did. No matter what I did, he somehow saw what was I doing. It was beyond instinct, beyond luck-and I knew he was different. I had him fess up to me."

"And?"

"It turned out that his ability was not something visible like the Sharingan nor it required chakra to work. It simply was something he could do instinctively. He was in a way omniscient."

"That's ridiculous!" Tsunade replied vehemently. "You're talking as if he was a god."

"I'm not. But that word describes what he was the best. I'm not saying he knew or could do everything, but he damn could do much more than any man I ever met. He could tell if someone was lying to him or was planning to attack him beforehand, he could detect people and animals without looking, he could sense chakra like a sensor although I know he wasn't. He could see how seals worked and he could manipulate them regardless of their complexity or origin. His speed, his reflexes-they all came from his ability to anticipate what was going to happen next. He could sometimes dream of the future, which explains how he had that Death god summoning available when Kyuubi attacked. Imagine fighting someone who had the ability of the Hyuuga and the Uchiha at once and you'll still come up short."

Tsunade blinked in surprise. "Wow, that's a lot to take in. I mean, I knew he was powerful and talented, but I never saw him like that. I mean, he was always so calm, and except for his speed and that Hiraishin of his, he never seemed like he was really that strong."

Jiraya grinned. "If I taught him anything, it was to hide his best skills at all times and cover his tracks whenever possible. You know how Orochimaru used to analyze our opponents while we fought them and then he'd find a way to exploit their weaknesses. It taught me to hide my true skills from him and you. I taught that lesson to Minato. And remember, we're talking about a man who could kill other ninjas as if they were civilians. I always admired his ability to downplay his level of dangerousness."

"I knew you had an ace up your sleeve," Tsunade grimaced. "Katsuyuu-chan implied you were dabbling in very rare and dangerous skills. She said only your toads and some other summoning clans knew them."

Jiraya grinned mischievously. "Sorry, I'm not talking."

Tsunade frowned but let it go. "So, you're saying that Naruto is the same. I take it you're planning to train him in those skills. Which is logical, you know about them a lot more now."

"Yes, that's my intention. As a matter of fact I want to leave now. Akatsuki is on the move and I need every moment to hone his skills."

"What of his team?"

"Nothing, they can go on without him anyway. He's already miles ahead of them in terms of power and skill. I know that the Uchiha brat is slightly favored by Kakashi, so he won't be lacking attention. And Haruno Sakura is a textbook example of medic in waiting. Maybe you could check her out, Kakashi claims that she has exceptional chakra control."

Tsunade was torn. She wanted to get a chance to make up to Naruto, he was a relative after all. But he was also in serious danger and needed what was best for him.

"Are you sure it's the best way?" She asked.

"I am. I need time and privacy to build his strength. And I surely don't plan to leave him where Danzo could come sniffing after my secrets. I know he has his eye on Naruto and Sasuke. But we both know he wants control over Kyuubi."

"Hmph, the cripple is still after his dream? He won't get anywhere if I'm to be asked. I'll handle him, but you better do as you said. No peeping, no wasting your time. Naruto must be ready for what's to come. These Akatsuki people, all stronger than Orochimaru. I believe you have no choice but to make Naruto into the most feared soldier since his father." Tsunade said sadly. But what choice was there? Better for the boy to survive than to get killed because his teachers were too soft on him.

Jiraya nodded and stood up. "See you in a few years Hime. Stay safe and don't trust Homura and Koharu. I think they are in Danzo's pocket. Ino-Shika-Chou trio will be your best bet with Tsume in tow. Hiashi will do what's best for his clan. The rest will be tricky, but you can win them over if you play your cards right. I'll send one of my messenger toads with detailed info on all councillors."

"All right. Remember, you promised to do your best for Naruto. I'll hold you to that."

"Don't worry, I'll be good." Jiraya laughed softly and went out.

He found Naruto outside, he was doing light katas with his tanto.

"Ero-sensei, what's up?" He asked without stopping, moonlight reflecting of the polished surface of his blade.

"We're going on a training trip kiddo." Jiraya anounced immediately. "I convinced Tsunade it was necessary to train you out of the reach of curious eyes and ears."

"Why?"

"I'm sure you already know that you're different from everyone else." Jiraya said with knowing gaze.

Naruto paused, inspecting Jiraya with his power. The man was utterly calm, convinced. Unreadable almost, but not a threat. How did he... of course, his father must've exibited some Force abilities however crude they were. Interesting.

"What would you know about it?"

Jiraya shrugged. "I believe I know more than you do. Your old man was the same and I helped him refine his skills. I can offer my knowledge to help you. Plus I've got some of my own secret moves that no one else knows. I think we both know you won't refuse-the Akatsuki isn't a joke. Orochimaru was the weakest of them, you know."

"_Accept his offer," _Darth Avariss spoke from the depths of the Dark Side. "_We can't pass up this chance to hone your physical abilities in combination with the Dark Side. So far you had me and your sordid clones, but it isn't enough! You need a live opponent with whom you can work , he is hiding his true powers-can't you feel his energy,my student?He is more open to the nature and the Force. I am curious how could someone so blind to the real power of the universe become like that."_

"_As you wish Master." _Naruto agreed. He looked at Jiraya and smiled widely.

"When do we leave, Ero-sensei?"

Tsunade sighed tiredly and rubbed her temples to chase away the oncoming headache. She shouldn't have accepted the position of the Hokage. It was a nightmare. People were coming to her with suggestions, ideas, stupid remarks and she was barely a day in the office!

First, she had to catch up to the overall situation of the village. Then it was talking with councillors, most of whom sought to manipulate her to their own ends. At least she had Jiraya's info so she managed to bypass these attempts.

It was funny how that old hag Koharu and her buddy Homura were 'supportive' of their dear departed teammate's student and inheritor. They blew her eardrums off when they heard that Naruto was out of the village for the next three years, out of their 'protection'. Of course, their level of indignation was reflecting the amount of flak they would receive from their shady pal Danzo and his cohorts.

Danzo,Danzo...he was dangerous. Jiraya's suspicions of his work were worrisome. Of course, they were correct. Dear damned –why did he get himself killed-sensei left her a few coded warnings in secret. The ROOT was still on, she was advised to let them do what they do as long as it was more beneficial to the village than not. Sarutobi-sensei was one clever, underhanded bastard when he had to be.

The problem was, how to handle Danzo and his merry gardeners once they became too bothersome? Still, she knew the old warhawk. He won't be trying anything as long as Naruto was not under his thumb. Much of the future was depending on how strong the brat would become. He better be ready to take over the damned village, the paperwork was really, really bothersome. Khm, she was spending too much time talking to Shikaku.

She needed a drink.

He spun quickly around and threw three shuriken at the shadows of his training ground, and heard a clang of metal. He threw himself aside when the return volley whizzed, followed by a masked figure that aimed to kick his head.

He used kawarimi to escape, then he activated his newest jutsu. Chakra blazed in his hand, his eyes burned with power. He dashed at the silent attacker and was about to pirerce his torso, but he vanished. He cleaved through the wood, and found himself suddenly paralyzed, not in control as he felt another mind intrude upon his own. A Yamanaka?

"So, young man, have you thought about my proposal?" Danzo asked as he stepped out of the shadow, his cane supporting his weight.

Sasuke fell on his knees, the mind that controlled him was suddenly gone. "I didn't know that the Yamanaka clan supported your organization."

Danzo smiled coldly. "I have many friends. Some of them were your cousins once. You see, I have many varied shinobi in my group who could widen your repertoire of techniques and give you a truly universal grasp of shinobi skills. Your sensei has copied a thousand jutsus, I offer you a thousand styles, strategies and tactics. You can't kill your sibling with a jutsu, you have to survive long enough for him to fall into your trap. For that you need to grow smarter, more cunning-you won't lack the power, I can see that already. So many ninjas today think that power is all. I tell you, it's not the power that kills, it's the mind of a true shinobi who knows no pain, no fear, no mercy. Just duty and determination to accomplish what must be done."

Sasuke frowned. He thought about it and he knew it was true. He acted rashly before, attacking head on against the opponent whom he knew nothing about. And he fell so easily.

He was angry. It was all because of that Naruto bastard again. He was shocked to hear that Naruto was gone with one of the legendary Sannin. He was humiliated by the fact that Naruto defeated the traitor Kabuto, the traitor who gave him Orochimaru's seal. He saw Kakashi's shock when they were told about that fight...even his teacher admitted that Kabuto was a solid jounin in skills. Then he had the gall to lecture proudly how Naruto exploited Kabuto's arrogance against him, telling Sasuke and Sakura to beware such a mistake in the future. When Kakashi was amazed that Naruto learned the prized jutsu of the Fourth in less than a full month, the jutsu that Chidori was based on, Sasuke was seething. Every step forward for him, it meant a huge leap for Naruto. No matter how hard he tried, Naruto was always ahead, just like that man!

He had to change his approach to his development. He couldn't look at others anymore. It just infuriated him and then obviously forced him to make lapses in judgement as he just did. This old bastard knew it and was showing him how stupid he was. But he also knew that he needed him for something, probably his eyes...he was curious how far he could go with someone who could work under the nose of the Hokage untouchable, almost independent. That was something worth exploiting. Secrets among secrets, shadows within shadows...he wanted to go in there, to learn how to become untouchable by his emotions, by his hesitations, by his weaknesses. Orochimaru be damned, he was just a nutcase. A powerful nutcase to be frank, but not one to his liking. He remembered those hungry, animal eyes and shuddered.

"I'm in." Sasuke said simply.

"Good." Danzo nodded. "I will arrange for a new teammate to be added to your team since Naruto is gone with that pervert Jiraya. I pity the boy, he won't be getting much from him."

"Why would you say something like that about the man who trained the Fourth?" Sasuke was puzzled.

"Ha!" Danzo sneered in one of his rare displays of emotion. "Don't be fooled by their fame boy. None of the Sannin are perfect, mark my words. I admit, they are strong but not perfect. Jiraya may talk about his teaching skills and power, but the truth is that Namikaze Minato was a rare genius who developed his own skills, his own style. Even his knowledge of seals didn't fully come from Jiraya, but from other sources. Just look at Jiraya-he often uses jutsus learned from his student, like that Rasengan. No, the Sannin aren't great, they are just very good at surviving. Most of their fame they earned while they were a team, not when they were alone. I do not lie when I say that I could take either one of them in a single combat."

At Sasuke's sceptic look Danzo smiled. "Did you know that their name, the Sannin was given to them by the Salamander Hanzo when he fought them and a veritable army of our ninjas? They were his to kill, yet he chose to spare them since they showed amazing teamwork, but under one condition-they had to accept the name he gave them, a title of the Sannin. Even their legendary title is nothing but an act of mercy, of mockery, by arguably the strongest ninja today. Think about it for a while. The truth is, there is always someone stronger out there. And we all die eventually, the only difference is whether is it on our own terms or not."

Sasuke was left alone to mull about some new truths. Danzo, he was glad that someone new entered his plans. Jiraya and Tsunade may think they were winning, but he had a powerful ace now. All it takes is a bit of planning, and the Uchiha was his to use now. The brat was easy to push in the right direction, his mind was impressionable still.

Uchiha Itachi flickered into existence upon the fingertip of a giant statue hidden somewhere, his hologram a detailed representation of his true appearance. There were nine more silhuettes in black cloaks, they were the rest of the Akatsuki.

"Report." The Leader said, his silver eyes staring coldly at Itachi and his partner.

"We failed to apprehend our target. Jiraya-sama somehow expected us and let us know he knew about us. We were warned to stay away from Uzumaki Naruto." Itachi said in emotionless tone. His face was like a dead mask.

"I see." The Leader said. "You've done well to stay away. Can you tell anything about Kyuubi's host? It would be useful to know what to expect from him in the future."

"I'm afraid not, Leader. All we saw was his Shadow Clone who relayed Jiraya-sama's message to us. It was practicing some jutsu, though. I believe that the jinchuriiki is aware of the advantages of training with Shadow Clones. Considering his large chakra reserves I believe he will be considerably more dangerous in three years." Itachi replied promptly.

"Bah, we'll take care of the brat anyway." Kisame growled, still smarting from the last meeting with the clone. He hated being insulted in any way.

"No, you will not. I will take care of Uzumaki Naruto personally." The Leader said, his oppressive aura enveloping the whole assembly.

"What? But..." Kisame protested, only to be silenced by Leader's scathing look.

"You've had your opportunity Kisame-san. Uzumaki Naruto will be closely guarded in the future, all of our targets will be. It will be extremely difficult to accomplish anything covertly. Besides, we've lost the Ichibi for some time too. We must know the location of every biju before proceeding. Luckily I have it on good authority that the Ichibi will reform within next three years. We must get him first."

"Huh, so it's wait and see?" said the other Akatsuki member, a strange hunched figure whose body was unseen. Akasuna no Sasori was one of the most dangerous ninjas in the world and known for his patience.

"It can't be helped," said the plant like member whose name was Zetsu. "We must gather intelligence and prepare. Also we must go to the ground, that Sannin knows too much already."

"No thanks to Orochimaru. He was the one Jiraya was tracking, right to our doorstep." Kakuzu spat.

"Yeah, now there's the guy I'd like to expose to my art, yeah!"Deidara, the blond nukenin from Iwa crowed enthusiastically.

"Can we go now? I could spend this time to do more important things than jabber about that snake freak, like I could sacrifice some heathens to Jashin-sama." Hidan said angrily, his pale face shining with mad hunger.

"You are dismissed and stay hidden until I say so." The Leader spoke imperiously. "We will make a move when it's appropriate. Keep in mind that we still need funds to achieve our goals, so let's keep performing missions to weaken hidden villages. Suna is the most vulnerable now, let's keep it that way. They will be desperate to gain their biju, so we can use them to lead us to it."

Soon, they were all gone.

Orochimaru shifted his shoulders, his new shoulders, and grinned maliciously as he moved in his new body. His powers were restored, his old feeble shell cast off.

He snarled silently, remembering that Kabuto was gone. He didn't care for the brat save for the fact he was extremely capable servant who truly believed in his cause. It was hard to find someone so loyal yet free thinking, capable of brilliant solutions to most problems. It would be very hard to find another one like him.

Already, he was loosing Kimimaro to his wasting illness. Kabuto was sorely missed, although it was quite inevitable that the last Kaguya would perish. At least he had collected much of his DNA to preserve his bloodline. In the years to come he would surely find a way to restore the Dead Bone Pulse ability. For himself, of course.

Being in a new form, he had another three years to spend to recover from his losses.

Uchiha Sasuke was going to be his one day, if not immediately. Without Kabuto to sustain him as he was, he could not wait for the Uchiha boy. He'll have to let him grow on his own, then scoop him up later.

Or perhaps he could do it now? Offer to train the child, to mould his body and skills properly? It could be done while Konoha was weak. It's jounins and chunins were swamped wih missions, the security was at the lowest.

He motioned with hand slightly and four ninjas were kneeling behind him instantly.

"Go and bring me Uchiha Sasuke. Do not fail me!" He hissed.

"Yes, Orochimaru sama!" The Sound Four chorused and vanished.

The Sound Four were the elite of Orochimaru's ninjas and they made their way into the Uchiha district successfully, after a long run from their base. They had to spend a short time searching under the cover of night, but they found their quarry alone, in the training yard behind his house.

They watched him a while as he practiced, content to see what he could do.

"Che, this fucker's got nothing special." The girl on the team spat out, her red hair bobbing with the move.

"Chill out Tayuya, Orochimaru-sama wants him, we get him." The boy to her left said, his dark eyes shining with amusement as he watched the black haired name was Kidomaru.

"Come out, I know you're there." Sasuke demanded, his back still turned to them.

The four exchanged amused smiles and leaped out to face their prey.

"Who are you?" Sasuke glared at them.

"I think you know already Uchiha-san." Kidomaru said coldly. "Orochimaru-sama has extended his invitation to you to join him in his village."

"And why should I accept it?" Sasuke's scepticism was quite obvious.

"Shut up!" Tayuya growled. "Orochimaru-sama has given you but a taste of his power and offers more if you join him. That's the only way you can have what you want."

"But there is a price to it. You must give up your independence for that, just like we did, and serve Orochimaru-sama loyally." Jirobo explained in his deep voice, as it was befitting such a large hulked over his comrades, resembling a member of the Akimichi clan in size.

"I think I'll refuse. I don't like the idea of being someone's servant." Sasuke answered cooly, his Sharingan blazing proudly.

"Whatever you moron,we're taking you with us anyway." Said the boy with pale features, his thin body tense. He was called Sakon.

Their cursed seals activated, changing their skins that were now cowered with black tattoos. Sauke stepped away from them and his own seal spread over his skin.

"Ha, as if that will help!" Kidomaru scoffed at the Uchiha. "You're barely able to use that seal properly. It takes years to get used to it. And it's not even fully activated, like ours."

They were about to pounce at him, but it was not to be. Suddenly, wood burst from the ground, grabbing Tayuya and Kidoumaru, ensnaring them in it's hard and thick beams, forming a tight body restraining cage that didn't let them move a single muscle.

Sakon and Jirobou tried to free them,but suddenly Jirobou's eyes glazed over and he attacked Sakon who yelled in surprise as the massive fist sent him flying. Shadows moved and Sakon was swallowed by the mass of chittering black insects that drained his chakra quickly, revealing that he had another body within himself, his twin Ukon.

Jirobo tried to fight off his mind invader, but ultimately he failed under the swarm of insects that devoured his chakra.

Tayuya and Kidomaru were dragged away by the living wood that sucked them under the ground, while two masked ROOT agents dragged the other two sound nin away. It was all over in just two minutes.

Another agent showed himself to Sasuke, his mask that of the dog. "Danzo-sama sends his regards. As he predicted, Orochimaru tried to kidnap you. Danzo-sama doesn't like his men being abducted by traitors. You never saw them, understood?"

Sasuke nodded. "What will be of them?"

"They will be interrogated and their seals investigated. We believe we will extract necessary information from them about those, enough to help you to develop yours to full strength."

The Anbu left while Sasuke pondered what happened. He was used as a bait, he realized. Danzo was surely aware that Orochimaru might try this. Sasuke wasn't grateful, he was appreciative of the protection he received by his new boss. At least someone was aware of his value to Konoha. There were benefits from his new alliance, and more was to come.

For the first time since that day, Sasuke felt like he could really accomplish his ambition.


	14. Chapter 14

** CHAPTER 14**

The rain was pouring incessantly from grey clouds in the sky, creating a thick curtain that obscured everything in Jiraya's vision. He didn't mind, it made him less noticeable to the inhabitants of the Hidden Rain village who were bustling around hurriedly trying to avoid getting too wet.

The Rain Country was an isolated nation, torn by civil wars that raged every once in a while. Jiraya knew that and he saw signs of it everywhere, but also he saw signs of recovery and relative peace. Something wasn't right, the country was still closed off, no one could get in or out. It took all of his skill to get in the village undetected, there were some serious wards around.

But he was Konoha's spymaster with a good reason. He managed to learn quickly that Salamander Hanzo was dead and that the rebel faction was in charge, led by the mysterious individual named Pain. He knew he was on the right track, whoever Pain was, he was a major player since he managed to defeat Hanzo.

Hanzo was one of the greatest ninja of the century, right there with his sensei and other great Kages. After all, he was the one who defeated Konoha's legendary Team Seven who were taught by the God of Shinobi. Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraya barely held him off, only because they worked like a well oiled machine. Hanzo was impressed by their teamwork, so he decided to spare them and give them a name by which they were known today-the Sannin of Konoha. Even today, Jiraya felt nothing but serious respect for the ruthless leader of Rain ninjas. Whoever managed to kill him was very, very dangerous.

Jiraya didn't decide to visit the Rain village, he was compelled to. His student Uzumaki Naruto went missing three months ago, leading Jiraya on a wild chase-it led him straight here, in the heart of the enemy territory. Because Jiraya learned that the elusive Akatsuki might be stationed there, he had to risk the confrontation with them to save his idiotic student. He just wished he knew why Naruto left after nearly three years of perfect obedience and diligence. Even Minato wasn't as disciplined as his son.

Jiraya didn't dare to report him to Tsunade, she'd kill him for letting the brat go. And the Council would make Naruto a target, a missing nin. Danzo would try to have him imprisoned, branded with mind controlling seals and what not. Jiraya had to find Naruto, lest the Akatsuki get him while he was alone and vulnerable.

He was moving in the shadow of his victim, a local ninja of pathetic ability but who served perfectly as his cover for travelling around. He was in the process of returning in the populated area, when he was attacked by a flurry of chakra enhanced papers that enveloped the decoy.

Jiraya suppressed his surprise and acted quickly. He released his decoy and leapt out of his shadow, exhaling a large amount of oil at the attacker, aiming to disable her paper skills.

His heart ached as he saw her uniform, a black cloak with red clouds on it. "Hello, Konan. You've grown up beautiful, just as I predicted."

"Jiraya-sensei." Konan replied coldly, perched high on the metal promontory that jutted from the wall of the adjacent tower.

A figure was standing at the edge of a small clearing extending from the rocky face of the Crying Mountain that stood some distance behind the Rain village. It's name was aptly chosen, for rain was there always, falling down it's jagged, bare surface like tears that would slide down the face of a crying person.

Nobody went to that desolate, cold place that seemed cursed by the gods of the sky and whipped by harsh cold winds that could tear a young tree in half.

Uzumaki Naruto chose that place as his staging area where he waited for his chance to enter the Rain village. He was dressed in black uniform, with nothing that could be noticed as unusual. His body was wrapped in a heavy cloak, his face hidden in the cowl's shadow. He felt cold satisfaction, Jiraya was inside and his battle with the leader of the Akatsuki has just begun. It was expected, arranged for. Jiraya was his decoy, his bait for the man who remained hidden in the tall tower while his forces besieged the Toad Sage.

Naruto could sense everything for miles, so he knew where his prey was. Alone, unguarded. He allowed himself a fleeting smirk of satisfaction as he unsealed his newest tool. It was a large glider, made of reinforced bamboo and strong fabric that was usually used to make sails of large ships. Naruto lifted the flying contraption by it's steering horizontal bar and took of at superhuman pace, jumping in the empty air.

He plummeted for a few moments, until physics took hold of him and his flying craft, lifting him suddenly up and above his jump point. Naruto manipulated the air with the Force, creating powerful currents that lifted him high, almost to the point where he could touch the clouds above.

It was a child's play to glide through the air towards the village that looked like an artistic miniature replica, at least from his vantage point. A single thought molded his chakra in a familiar pattern and a Shadow Clone popped into existence next to him. The real Naruto simply let go, falling down like a rock, straight through the barrier that protected the village.

He manipulated his signature to mimic the life signs of birds that were flying around, knowing that the barrier wouldn't register him as an intruder that way. His Force abilities made it laughingly easy.

His fall was now controlled by the Force, carrying him in a smooth angled descent towards the tallest tower in the village. Nobody noticed him as he descended without sound, his cloak spread wide like wings of a mythical giant bird.

Naruto immediately entered the structure, navigating it's winding metal passages unerringly towards his prey. It was again necessary to befuddle the security measures. Electronic cameras would freeze for a moment when he passed by, locks would open themselves at his glance, security seals and barriers simply didn't react to his presence.

Finally, he stood before the massive gate made of thick metal plating and secured by numeric keypad and complex seals that were supposed to detect unknown chakra signatures if someone tried to open them. Naruto waved his hand and electronic lock was disengaged, he simulated chakra signature of his prey with ease, since his target was but a few metres from him.

The door opened. Naruto almost laughed as he saw his target. He was a tall, emaciated red haired man. His skinny body was placed in the chair like device, but it was obviously mobile. His eyes were grey with circles that created a ripple effect. He was strong, but ultimately defenseless now because his strength was focused elsewhere. Naruto could sense he was generating a massive amount of chakra and sending it towards six points surrounding Jiraya's signature that was emitting pain and injury.

The man's eyes widened in surprise. "You...how...I see. Jiraya sensei is smarter than I thought."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Jiraya-sensei? What a small world it is."

The redhead nodded. "Yes, it is. I suppose you came to end me, Uzumaki Naruto."

"I did. I will. Say your last prayers, fellow student." Naruto said and made to step forward, but the redhead smiled.

"If you attack me, I will kill Jiraya-sensei."

"Not if I kill you first." Naruto said coldly. But he didn't act, he decided to milk this unsuspecting idiot for information. He could always kill him later. As for Jiraya, well...ninja always die on missions.

"No, you won't. I have him at my mercy right now and you can't get to me in time. A single thought and one of my paths will get him."

"Your puppets are impressive, but without you they can't act." Naruto said, fishing for more info.

"They are more than puppets, they are the Six Paths of Pain and I'm a part of them. Right now I'm talking to you and dealing with sensei. That is my power, and I can end his life instantly. Surrender and I will spare him."

"Your name is Pain, eh? You look as crazy as you're called. Why do you want me so badly anyway?"

Pain stared at Naruto in relaxed manner, thinking he had all cards in his hands. After all, Uzumaki was thinking he was defenseless, which was a lie. He still could block any attack, kill Jiraya and summon his bodies here. He had the luxury of illuminating his fellow student of Jiraya's.

"Very well, I suppose it can't hurt to try again. As I said to our sensei, my purpose is not of selfish nature, in fact I'm trying to fulfill his wish for peace."

Naruto chuckled. "I should've guessed. Carry on, amuse me."

Pain narrowed his eyes, but let the comment slide. "I grew up in a volatile era of endless war and bloodshed that took my family from me. It was the first painful event that shaped my destiny because I gained my Rinnegan from it. As an orphan I was trying to survive alone, later with the help of two others. We were getting desperate and then we witnessed the battle between Jiraya-sensei and that monster Hanzo. Sensei and his friends survived and we searched for them."

"Why?"

Pein smiled slightly. "My friend Yahiko had a dream. He wanted to become powerful so he could change the world and end wars that always seemed to tear our country apart. So we asked those Konoha shinobi for help. Jiraya-sensei stayed with us and taught us to survive, then he witnessed my dojutsus power-he started to train us in shinobi arts. When we were strong enough to defeat his Shadow Clone, he determined we were ready to stay on our own."

Naruto nodded. Jiraya's clones were decent opponents against most low level ninjas.

Pein closed his eyes, remembering. "We survived next few years, bringing forth more like minded companions who desired peace in our land. In time we became a powerful faction, noticed by Hanzo himself. He knew we were strong and he feared we wanted to overthrow him. We didn't of course, but powerful people always fear other powerful individuals. He offered us a place with his people, promising us peace if only we would join him. It seemed reasonable, we were still loyal Rain shinobi."

Naruto said nothing. He just thought that these people were morons. Hanzo was a warlord, he thrived upon the weakness of his land. If his land was weak, his shinobi mediocre, he would be needed. He wasn't stupid enough to let some guys with idealistic attitude barge in, mess up his system and make him look bad.

"We were foolish to trust his word." Pein stated, his emotions clear to Naruto's otherworldly senses. "Hanzo made a deal with Danzo of Konoha, to eliminate us. In turn he would help Danzo to gain more power to become a new Hokage. I don't know all the details. Anyway, we barely survived, Konan and I. But Yahiko sacrificed himself to save us and that was the final event that brought me to this state. I realized that people can never understand each other to be at peace. It can only be achieved by making them experience the same pain, through which they will be united. I need your biju and all others to create a weapon of mass destruction that will sow pain around the world. After it is used, people will finally understand and be at peace. Fear of my weapon will stifle their conflicts, force them to band together."

"Interesting, but futile. People are stupid and always forget. And you won't be always around to 'remind' them." Naruto noticed.

Pein nodded. "Of course, but there will always be others who would want such a weapon and they will use it again thus starting another era of peace. And so it would be a cycle of pain and peace for all time. It's the best that can be done, human nature can't be changed."

Naruto chuckled. "You're one crazy bastard, Pein. I really don't care what you're after. The only thing I object to is my death. If you extract the fuzzy, I die. Period. And I have no wish to die for any fool's dream or ideal. If it were up to me, I'd release the bastard and let you have him, if you could."

Pein blinked. This was unexpected. "You're strange. You speak as if you have no loyalty to your village."

"Fuck Konoha." Naruto spoke coldly. "You think I volunteered to have Kyuubi stuffed in my belly? You think I volunteered for all those hateful glares, humiliation and pain they heaped upon me? I was used, then they had the gall to think it was all my fault. No, I decided to use them too. Just like I used Jiraya-sensei to lure you out so I could get rid of you. After I'm done with your organization, I'm going my own way. Konoha can live without me. If they feel otherwise, well they don't have anyone to stop me. Not anymore, I'm too powerful now. So, feel free and get rid of the prevert for me. I'll just off you, deliver your head to the village and sell them a sob story. I will use Konoha to get you all, especially that freak Madara who's pulling your strings. And then I will be free to choose my own destiny."

Pein was silent as he digested those words. He almost smiled, he just had the thing to make him an offer. "What would you say if I told you that you don't need to die when we take Kyuubi out of you?"

Naruto stared hard at Pein, he could feel that this man was very confident about that statement. Of all things, Naruto wanted Kyuubi gone from his bodybeyond anything. Kyuubi's presence was usually beneficial, but if he ever wanted to master the ultimate Sith power, the ability to transfer his essence into a new body, he had to get rid of his tenant. Kyuubi's presence was too destabilizing to his Force spirit. It was fine as long as he was alive, but they were merged together with that damnable seal that meshed their spiritual essences partially. To achieve immortality, a Sith Lord must be able to maintain his essence whole and pure when he switched bodies. If he failed, Kyuubi could destroy him as his essence was reformed upon his death.

"You could keep me alive?" Naruto asked, knowing that he could sense a lie.

Pein nodded. "It is one of my powers, I can revive a person if he or she wasn't dead too long. I am willing to do it in payment for your compliance. You said you don't care what happens to Konoha, so there is no reason to refuse. I have no interest in killing you, besides the obvious. Give me what I need and I will give you your freedom."

To his surprise, Naruto felt that Pain was being honest. He really believed he could revive the dead. "Prove it. Kill Jiraya-sensei and revive him before my eyes."

Pain waited a moment, his eyes focusing elsewhere. "It's done. I will have my paths bring him before us so I could revive him."

"It's hard to do it, isn't it?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, but one person is quite manageable. Please stand aside, I will summon my paths back." Pein replied and focuse his chakra. While it was true that he divided his powers among his paths, it was also true he could still use those abilities himself, one at a time. That's why he made them, to wield all of his special abilities at once.

A quick summoning jutsu later, another six individuals plus one corpse appeared in the chamber. They were all corpses, Naruto saw, but animated by Pain's chakra they were receiving somehow. He studied them and saw that they all had those black piercings, they were the common denominator. Naruto felt that they were probably conduits for Pain's chakra. They all shared same bright orange hair and Rinnegan eyes.

Jiraya's body was thrown on the floor unceremoniously. He was lacking his left arm, his body was riddled with short black rods, the same ones Pains had in them. Naruto marked them as dangerous.

"Well? Get on with it." Naruto snapped.

Pein nodded and made a ram seal. The body seemed to be just lying there, but Naruto felt the Force tremble. It shifted as if someone took a baloon and begun making various shapes while the rubber was being twisted and noise was quite similar too. Time and space folded in impossible patterns, to Naruto it was as if he was staring at the picture of madness personified. It was unnatural, even for him. He shifted his perception and hijacked the vision of one Pein, the guy with long hair on the left. He saw a weird looking gigantic head whose mouth was filled with black flames. It swallowed Jiraya's body and then it spat him out, uninjured and whole. Jiraya was alive!

When Jiraya opened his eyes, he blinked in surprise. He saw a familiar face in front of him, but that still didn't explain what happened. The last thing he remembered was one of Pain's bodies stabbing him in the throat. He hoped that Fukasaku managed to send his message to Konoha.

"I'll be damned, you really did it." He heard Naruto speak, which focused him enough to look around. He shuddered. The rooom was dark, but he could see clearly that every Pain was there, with the real Nagato whose red hair hung limply just like he remembered.

"Nagato, what have you done?" Jiraya asked.

"Isn't it obvious, sensei? I revived you. You are whole again." Nagato said, his voice dark and somehow empty. "I even gave you your hand back."

"I...why?" Jiraya wanted to know, his arm flexing reflexively. He felt relieved that he had it again.

"Because I asked him to." Naruto answered to Jiraya.

Jiraya focused on Naruto and noticed that his current student was free. He frowned, getting to an obvious conclusion. "Are you working with Nagato? Is that why you left?"

"No, no sensei," Naruto chuckled in amusement. "I left because I knew that you would never try to find out where is the boss of the Akatsuki. Your spies told you he was here months ago, but you chose to ignore it."

"I couldn't go here with you, it was too risky." Jiraya stated firmly.

"Maybe, but you're still underestimating my powers old man. Even after all the training we did. I guess it couldn't be helped, I was hiding quite a lot about me. Still, I knew you'd come for me so I led you here to draw Pain out. I planned to kill him before he could defend himself."

Jiraya grimaced. He was duped by Naruto, used as bait. He was still reeling from the fact he was revived by Nagato, his Rinnegan was truly a terrifying power. And Naruto obviously changed his mind about Nagato. "What changed your mind then?"

"I did," Nagato said. "I gave him an offer he couldn't say no to. I showed him that I can extract his burden from him and keep him alive. He will be free of the demon, free to choose his own destiny as he sees fit. I have to thank you sensei, you practically delivered this boy into my hands."

Jiraya paled and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, is that true? You are willing to betray your home?"

Naruto smiled coldly. "You are a fool sensei. I admit you aren't a bad man, but you're so naive. Your idealism has blinded you to one thing-not all people are willing to let go of injury dealt to them, of injustice and humiliation. Konoha wasn't my home, it was my prison. You and Sarutobi, Tsunade and Kakashi...it was easy to just look the other way as I was being trod upon, beaten up, spat upon and I won't go into more details. You were my godfather, Tsunade was my real blood relation, yet you weren't there for me. Sarutobi had no time for me, save for a few occasions when he could escape his work. But the village was always there to kick me in the face, to make sure I don't get any ideas about being a decent human being, a person worth love and respect."

Jiraya couldn't look him in the eye any more.

"So you see, I decided to be patient and wait for my chance to pay Konoha for it's hospitality in full. I guess it's true what they say, revenge is a dish best served cold. Mine has gone arctic."

"You can't trust Nagato to keep you alive after you give him what he wants." Jiraya tried to reason with his now ex pupil. To see his two greatest hopes turn their backs on him, it broke his heart. He now understood Sarutobi-sensei's pain.

"Actually, I have thought about it already. I still can give Nagato extra things that will make his life a lot easier. It will be my insurance against treachery." Naruto smiled.

"What is it?" Nagato was curious.

"Three things actually." Naruto said. " I can kill Madara for you. I know you work for him, but he's too slippery to get killed by you. I suppose he won't be afraid of me. The second thing is, I know where Shukaku will be reformed and when. I will tell you after you keep your end of the deal."

"What's the third thing?"

"I will tell you where to find Danzo when you attack Konoha. In fact, I would enjoy killing him myself, but I have a better plan. It's ironic really."

"What do you mean?" Nagato frowned.

"Danzo was one of the people who orchestrated the Uchiha massacre." Naruto revealed the shocking truth.

"What?" Jiraya exclaimed in shock. "That's impossible. Sarutobi-sensei would've..."

Naruto nodded with mocking grin on his face. "He was the one who gave a final order to Itachi that night. Itachi is in fact still loyal to Konoha, as long as Danzo, Koharu and Homura are not touching Sasuke. Itachi's been spying on the Akatsuki ever since he joined. It was all planned in advance."

"Why would Konoha kill it's most powerful clan?" Nagato asked. He too was surprised by this.

"The Uchiha were planning a rebellion. Ever since Kyuubi attacked, they were being suspected for it. In turn, they lost much influence in the village and grew isolated in their district so they could be monitored more easily. So they decided to rebel. Itachi turned on them since he calculated that his clan was on the loosing side I guess. He wanted to spare his brother, a new seed of the new Uchiha clan." Naruto explained.

"How do you know this?" Jiraya demanded.

"I have my ways, sensei." Naruto laughed and tapped his temple with his fingers.

"So, Itachi is a spy." Nagato mused. "Madara must've known that. He trained the boy. It seems that he was keeping secrets of his own. Can you really kill him?"

Naruto smiled coldly and looked at Jiraya. The white haired shinobi suddenly started to choke as some invisible force raised him of the ground. His whole body was levitating, his limbs paralysed. He was getting weaker by moments.

"Wait!" Nagato said. "Let him live."

Naruto shrugged and released his hold on Jiraya, who gasped and started to gulp the air hungrily. His face was slowly loosing it's red colour.

Nagato eyed Naruto carefully. "You didn't use chakra for that."

Naruto nodded.

"I see, that is most useful. Madara won't be expecting that. Be sure to kill him faster, he can teleport around freely. He has this special time-space jutsu that allows him to cross into another dimension, or to another location instantly. It's nearly instantaneous."

"Is that jutsu based on his eyes?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I believe so. But I can't be certain. Will that be a problem?"

"No, I have my own tricks he won't be expecting. He's already dead, he just doesn't know it."

"Very well. We will gather our members and extract Kyuubi. When can we expect for Shukaku to reform?"

"Within the next three months I believe. Don't ask, it's a biju thing." Naruto said. "I will tell you where when our deal is done."

"Of course. You may take one of the rooms below to stay at. I will finish this business with Jiraya-sensei."

Naruto nodded and left, led by one of paths.

"Are you going to kill me again Nagato?" Jiraya asked. He wasn't afraid anymore. He lost too much today.

"No. You may return to your pathetic village with the knowledge of what transpired here today. I want your corrupt leaders shake in fear of what's coming. I want them to know that they are going to lie in the bed of their own making, Jiraya sesnei. I want you to tell them it was their own fault that their jinchuriiki deserted them. I want you to live and regret your abandonment of your godson. I want your Hokage to cry as her last living family is branded traitor. I want Konoha to tremble, because Naruto will help me raze it to the ground along with every other village and nation. He will be my greatest representative, for his power is great. It's destiny sensei, for we both know that I am the new Rikudo Sennin, and that Uzumaki Naruto is the last descendant of the clan that could claim relation to the original Rikudo Sennin. The Senju and the Uchiha are nothing compared to him and me. The new world will be born soon. Be gone and remember my words."

Jiraya didn't want to leave without a parting shot. "It won't be so easy Nagato. Ninja villages are strong, much stronger than you believe. We will fight you."

"I know. That's why you wiill have to stay as my guest for a while."

Jiraya didn't have the time to react as one of Nagato's bodies rushed behind him. It was the fat one, with the power to absorb chakra. He worked fast and Jiraya was unconscious in a minute.

This path took him away, into a secure cell. Pain wanted to collect his biju before releasing the man with his message. He wasn't stupid to reveal his hand too soon.

* * *

**Whew, another one is done! I was planning something else for this chapter, but some instinct told me to wait. It was too simple to have Pain killed so nice and easy. But then I had this crazy idea where two students unite and kick Jiraya in that sensitive spot, hard. Honestly, I dont' hate Jiraya, but he was almost non existent in the series. I always was amazed how he just waltzed back in Konoha, not even bothering to check on his own godson. If I were Minato, I'd resurrect myself and give the bastard a million years of pain in the ass! Tsunade too, she was too busy drinking herself to stupor for years, instead of taking care of her relative. he wasn't her close relative I admit, but they were both Uzumakis. She just had another, more famous side of the family. Big deal!**

**And to end it, Kishimoto is an ass. He's been resurrecting people left and right with that Edo Tensei, it's not even funny. I thought that this justu was like...really, really hard and Kabuto is using it like nothing. What the hell is wrong with Kishi? First, there's this new, improved Manda, then Kabuto is obviously very sneaky(actually I liked the kidnapping of Tenzo, it was very smart) and untouchable, he can resurrect an army if necessary.**

**God, there will be like gazillion of drama chapters where our heroes face their loved ones in long, speech filled fights. It's a guarantee of another hundred chapters!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

Pain...it was everywhere around him, a void in which he was floating for what seemed like eternity. His identity was washed away in the stream of agony, his thoughts silenced by the noise that wasn't. There were no colors, no sensations... just pain.

He knew he was still alive, on some level at the least. He didn't think of it, he didn't dwell upon his situation, he clung on his own self-awareness with single-mindedness that was a purpose onto itself-if he let go of it even for a moment, he knew he'd be washed away by the unseen torrent of agony, piece by piece.

He floated, like a leaf on the wind that was...how did he know what wind was?

Then he felt that he could...

He was confused, but he still held onto his indeterminable position, with that instinct that tells us not to let go, or we would fall...it was the fear of falling that was the most primal sensation humans felt upon their birth, and it never really goes away...

_Fear is the source of all emotion...fear is your greatest enemy, to master yourself you must master fear first...when you learn to not fear, you will learn to make others fear...focus your emotions to master yourself, because it will bring the mastery of the Force..._

He felt those words keenly...they were a part of him.

_The Force is the greatest power in the Creation, it is everywhere and in everything...anything can be done with it, if you know how...the Force is knowledge made manifest through reality in all of it's forms...it's energy, matter, light and dark, fluid and gas...suns and moons and worlds...it's air you breathe, it's food you eat, it's water you drink...it's joy and sadness, loss and happiness...it's life and death at once...it is..._

He drew strength from those words that echoed through him, he used them to focus even more. He was finally able to float even higher, to some unseen surface of this vast...pain-sea...

"Aaaarhh!" He screamed as he broke some unseen barrier and he gasped. He crawled onto the dry soil, heaving and wheezing with effort. He collapsed on his back, staring at the metallic grey sky above, filled with thunder and lightning.

"Finally boy, I didn't think you'd make it here." Someone said.

The boy slowly went on his knees. "Master..."

"Naruto..." Darth Avariss smiled, his yellow red eyes alight with some sort of joy. "Your plan is working, the annoying fox is gone, almost..."

The glow around Uzumaki Naruto's floating form faded and he fell on the ground below. Eight forms relaxed while standing on the fingertips of the gigantic statue that looked like a bound man sitting in lotus position, with hideous visage and blinded but with grotesque symbols and eye like pictures on it...it was Gedo Mazo, a container for the biju that the Akatsuki wanted to seal in...

A single figure landed next to Naruto's form, papers obscuring it for a moment. Konan kneeled next to Naruto and used a medical diagnostic jutsu.

She looked up towards one of the people standing on Gedo Mazo. He was stoic, pale skinned and with orange hair. His eyes were grey with circles forming a ripple effect.

"He lives, Leader-sama." Konan pronounced.

"What?" said the blonde man with hair tied up in a pony tail, giving him a slightly effeminate look. "That's impossible, I thought that the jinchuriiki can't survive this process."

"Interesting...he is an Uzumaki after all." Said the hunched figure next to the blonde, it's voice was deep and face and body hidden by the cloak and wide rimmed straw hat.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" The blond asked in confusion.

"Hn, Sasori is right." Added the man to their right, his face also mostly obscured. But everyone knew who he was, Kakuzu of the Waterfall Hidden Village. He was feared ninja by many, and he was old enough to remember the Uzumaki clan. "They were powerful a long time ago. I heard some strange tales of their abilities. "

"Whatever, he's gonna die soon enough, yeah." Deidara repiled derisively.

"That remains to be seen." Pain said and looked at Konan. "Take him to one of our rooms, he might recover eventually on his own."

"Who will watch him?" Konan asked.

"Me, me...pick me! Tobi wants to watch...Tobi is a god boy." Said the person wearing orange mask with one eyehole and swirling pattern on it. He seemed of medium height and build, but his behavior was bizarrely cheerful for a member of this criminal group.

At Pain's nod, Tobi sank underground and popped up out of it next to Naruto and Konan in a second. He lifted Naruto over his shoulder and trotted away with laughter of a child that received a nice toy. But his demeanor changed as soon as he was out of everyone's sight and he simply vanished with Naruto, reappearing in one of rooms that were in the Akatsuki's lair. He dropped Naruto on the bed and sat down in the chair next to it.

"You and your family will never cease to amaze me." Tobi muttered, now in his true voice of Uchiha Madara. He gave a slight chuckle. "I knew you were strong Naruto-san, but this is absolutely amazing...I think I will have to kill you myself after all. But first I want to talk with you."

"He is going to kill him." Konan said to Nagato via his path that was Yahiko's body.

Nagato nodded. "He will try. I have one of my summons ready to intervene if it comes to that."

"You will defy Madara over him?" Konan asked. Nagato never defied Madara before. There was no need.

"It's time to show we're not his lackeys. He thinks that I'm not aware of his treacherous ways. And we now know his weaknesses. You and I together can beat him."

Konan nodded in agreement, secretly smiling. Nagato was finally becoming active, perhaps it wasn't too late for them.

Naruto slowly focused and rose to his feet, his fatigue and pain receding in the back of his consciousness. After all, this was a place of the mind, not of the body. But he was disturbed by his Master's presence...it was ominous.

"I see you're getting better, my apprentice." Darth Avariss intoned with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. It never did.

"I am, Master. Why are you here?" Naruto asked and looked around, seeing the dreary landscape and thin, dead looking tree in the distance.

"Where else should I be? I was always with you. I will always be here." Darth Avariss said and walked towards Naruto slowly, with no hesitation.

"I suppose my consent is irrelevant." Naruto sneered.

Avariss chuckled evilly. "Right to the point, my student. I always admired your intellect. It's time to prove if you really are powerful to become the true Sith Lord."

"Ah, yes...the pupil must overcome his teacher to prove he is worthy of becoming the next Dark Lord of the Sith. Really, must we be so traditional, Master?" Naruto mocked his Master.

"Some things are just too fun to miss Naruto, so prepare and defend your soul if you can!" Darth Avariss screamed in the end and ignited his crimson light saber as he leaped at his pupil. He was going to take his body as his own and return to his reality where he would get his vengeance on the Jedi.

Naruto brandished his Sith sword, a weapon he forged in the real world. It was made of metallic alloys altered by the Dark Side, made impervious even to the lightsaber's might. It was of ancient design, but quite able to serve his needs since he could not make the lightsaber in the real world. Avariss taught him the art of sword combat in the dreamscape, so this situation wasn't new.

His black weapon hissed, making black trail in the air between the, blocking the crimson blade as it was aimed at his shoulder. Naruto reversed the grip on his weapon, letting Avariss press on as he spun around to cut into his back. Avariss rolled forward, releasing a blast of the Force at Naruto who let it throw him back, while absorbing most of it, thus making some distance between the two combatants.

Avariss howled and let loose with the Force Lightning, which flew at Naruto in torrent of multiple blasts that corkscrewed around the blonde who unleashed a proverbial sphere of lightning that shielded the young Sith.

Two forces sparked, finally producing a powerful blast that threw both casters to the ground.

"I see you have mastered the Force Lightning, very impressive." Darth Avariss growled.

"I'm full of such surprises." Naruto stated.

"I'm sure you are. I suppose we'll have to settle this with our blades only." Avariss said that and rushed at his student with merciless intent.

They met with powerful clash that sent gusts of energy around them, both combatants willing the other to die. Between the Sith, only one could be a winner. Naruto blocked his Master's swift attacks, predicting them with the help of the Force, using all of his skill and ingenuity to remain alive.

They moved in circles around each others, red energy thrumming while black metal hissed, bleeding black trails in the space between them.

Naruto blocked two slashing attacks and pushed into Avariss, their weapons locked together. Avariss laughed and glided aside, while Naruto stumbled forward, turning his mistake in the roll that barely escaped the red blade. Avariss was unrelenting, attacking furiously while Naruto kept retreating and blocking.

They jumped incredibly high, exchanging parries and ripostes, swinging and diving...it was a dance of death and life, where one could only follow the unheard music and hope to win. Their fight gained a life of it's own, becoming the maelstrom of their mutual desire to annihilate. The Force sang their steps, and they danced to it's tune.

In the end, there could be only one winner. Darth Avariss became a wraith, a living shadow that couldn't be touched, his spirit fluttering like a torn cloth around the solid presence of Naruto. It came to a still, their fight.

Naruto tried to flee, landing on the ground in hope of gaining respite. It didn't come. Darth Avariss was nipping at his presence, like a wolf that always struck and danced away from the deer's response with mighty hooves. Each cut pained Naruto, cutting into his essence, making him bleed life itself.

Naruto fell on his knees, Avariss laughed and raised his crimson blade to struck him down forever. But he faltered for the moment, seeing something...Naruto didn't hesitate and he thrust his black sword in his former teacher's chest. Dartha Avariss stumbled backwards, his essence fracturing...he exploded in a million shards of energy, crimson knives that seared Naruto's flesh.

Naruto screamed in pain and fell on his back as crimson shards liquefied and started to burn his skin, like molten snakes that crawled over his body. His mind held firm though and he focused on absorbing those fragments, to replenish his essence. Knowledge of his teacher poured in his thoughts, his secrets became his own.

Moments passed. Naruto rose to his shaking feet and laughed wildly. Lightning flashed, blinding him. He was gone.

A shadow detached itself from the ground, rising to form a shape that faded away.

Naruto opened his eyes and blinked rapidly, the light in the room was bright and he was out of it for a while, so it took him a minute to regain his bearings. He ignored the man next to him, focusing on the Force and himself...

"Where am I?" Naruto demanded of the masked man, already aware of his circumstances.

"Oh, you're awake already?" Madara asked curiously. It was surprising, only an hour has passed since he brought the last Uzumaki in the room.

"I am. Now, who are you?"

"My name is Madara, Uchiha Madara."

Naruto nodded.

"I see, you heard of me already. May I know how?"

"Kyuubi told me your name, that it was all your fault. I didn't believe him." Naruto said, lying with ease.

"Ahh!" Madara hissed in surprise. "To think that he would admit to his weakness...Kyuubi must've really been angry."

"Wouldn't you be?" Naruto asked.

Madara shrugged. "Maybe, we'll never know."

"So he was telling the truth. You are the reason why I was made into his jailor."

"So?"

"I know you will kill me anyway. I'd like to know what really happened that night." Naruto said, appearing resigned to his fate.

"I believe I can show you the truth, I guess you deserve that much." Madara said with false sympathy, he was actually pretty sure that the truth would hurt the brat. To realize that his father was the one to do it...when it wasn't absolutely the only way to save Konoha...damn the Fourth!

"I will show you the truth, what I saw with my own eyes." Madara said in that silky, lying tone that drew it's victim like a honey filled with poison.

Naruto stared in Madara's eye, red Sharingan blazing, spinning. He suddenly found himself observing the night when he was born. He saw Madara kill the guards, Sarutobi's wife, he saw him take him hostage to distract his father...he saw Kyuubi get free and his mother alive still...his father using his terrible jutsu to ensure Madara wouldn't try it again...anger flared within Naruto as he saw his father use him to seal the biju in him, hoping he would one day serve as a weapon to finally rid the world of Madara, even if he meant the best...

"You see now? How he used you ?" Madara whispered poison in his ears.

"I see. I don't really care, not anymore...old fool." Naruto spoke coldly, his eyes now gold with red rim.

Madara stumbled away from Naruto, trying to end this genjutsu. Naruto laughed and laughed as Madara tried to end it...the scene changed and they stood atop the lake in the Valley of the End. Two gigantic statues were facing each other, in eternal opposition to each other.

"This is the place where you were defeated by Hashirama, isn't it?" Naruto asked casually, his eyes blue again.

"I didn't loose, I gained the new beginning there." Madara hissed. "I was just choosing which battle to win."

"Yes, very clever of you. While Hashirama and his clan slowly died out, you were building your pieces slowly, waiting for the right time to start. Just like I did."

Madara glared at Naruto. Naruto smirked evilly. "You can stop trying to end this, I am in control of this place. It's not a genjutsu you know, not in a way you know them. You have no power here. Chakra doesn't exist here."

"Impossible. Chakra is everywhere." Madara protested.

"Wrong, but I'm not here to educate your primitive mind, I'm here to kill you. Bye, old fool." Naruto said and raised his arms at Madara. Madara couldn't escape, he was lifted of the ground and red mist enveloped his body. A few gurgling screams were heard and the mist floated away, revealing Madara as an empty husk, his skin revealed to be dry, wrinkled grayish covering over a skeletal figure. He looked as if he was aged beyond a thousand years.

The mist floated slowly above water, reaching Naruto's feet and then it enveloped Naruto who inhaled deeply and smiled. He absorbed Madara's life force. It was the Force Drain technique that couldn't be taught, it could only be used on instinct. It was dangerous as well, for the user could get addicted to it.

Knowledge, some of it, seeped in his thoughts and Naruto smiled wickedly. Madara was such a bastard. He did kill his brother, just as he planned to conquer the world with the power of biju. Well, no more.

Naruto spun suddenly around, frowning. He sensed something...but no one was here. The world around him started to darken, and Naruto faded away with chuckles floating behind him.

A shadow rippled in the water. All went dark.

Naruto was now sitting on the bed, with Madara's corpse slumped in the chair. He removed the Uchiha's mask and smirked as he saw aged, gray skin. To his fascination, Madara's Sharingan remained active, feeding on the last trickle of his life, whatever was left of it.

There was a power in that eye, Naruto mused...he focused his perception on it, his mind spearing into it's structure. He knew that the Sharingan was a type of organically written seal that created efects that made it so powerful. If one could use proper viewing equipment, he'd see that chakra coils in the eye were so complex, so uniquely arranged to produce this particular type of jutsu, the eye jutsu that can see chakra, copy it's structure and movement, inscribe it in the user's nervous system...it wasn't magic, just chakra in the most extreme type of molding. It was a seal array of amazing complexity, and power.

Although all Uchiha clansmen had it, none was identical. Yes, they all had the same basic abilities, but not exactly the same. Some Uchihas were better at casting and seeing genjutsus, some were better with ninjutsus and so on. And then there was their Mangekyou form, each unique in shape and functions, although again similar to a point...it was just more complex seal. Very powerful, but just another seal in the end, like his father's Flying Thunder God tech.

Madara's memories revealed how his Mangekyou worked, and Naruto viewed it's structure, using the Force to absorb it, to memorize it. Every spin and twist was seen on microscopic level and copied, reflected in Naruto's eye that burned with chakra and the Force guided this process, healing newly created pathways, bent and cut coils and connecting others...in the end Naruto's eye held the reflection of Madara's, but it was blue as opposed to red.

He could see chakra now, but that didn't interest him. He focused his thoughts in the Force and activated Madara's most useful ability-his space fold jutsu that allowed him to move instantly between two points in space.

He felt the Force ripple, and his whole chakra system simply shifted, molded itself in a unique fashion. It lasted for a moment only, a flicker really-but Naruto felt a certain drain on his reserves, much more than he expected. It was understandable really, his copy of the Sharingan was only a copy, but it would serve his needs as he became fully adjusted to it. He observed the waves under Tazuna's bridge and smiled wide. They still called it after him, even though he wasn't the hero they believed in. But people always saw what they wanted. He focused his newfound ability again and faded away, back to the room with the corpse of his adversary.

He snorted in disgust at Madara's slumped, dessicated form and used the Force to crush his head in a burst of kinetic energy. The head fell apart like a melon dropped from a great height. Naruto burned the remains, using water jutsus to douse the flames later. He was just finished when Konan appeared in the room, in a flurry of paper.

She waited patiently until the blaze was extinguished. Then she eyed Naruto carefully. "I see that you took care of him. How did you manage it?"

Naruto smiled a little. The woman was secretly beginning to fear him a gret deal. His miraculous survival, his ease of defeating the legendary Madara...yes, she feared him.

"I drained his chakra from him. He was too confident of my disability, and it cost him dearly. I kept my end of the bargain. How about you?"

Konan didn't trust him, but she had no proof otherwise. "We obviously don't have to do our part since you are alive at the moment. But Pain-sama would appreciate your assistance in our endeavour. Especially since you still have unrestricted acess to Konoha."

Naruto nodded. "I agree. Tsunade trusts me to a certain extent. Shall I kill her?"

"Can you?" Konan asked in surprise.

"I think so. But Danzo is there, waiting to take her position. I think he should be my first target. Without him and Tsunade, Konoha will be in disarray. But it has to be timed properly. Also, Uchiha Itachi must remain ignorant of what transpired here. I think that it's time for Sasuke to get his chance to avenge his clan."

"Uchiha Sasuke can't win against Itachi-san." Konan said with conviction.

"I know that. But I also know that Itachi doesn't want to win. He is dying already on his own."

"What are you planning?"

"Leave it to me. Tell Nagato that he will find Nibi's container in Sebukka province of the Lightning Country, in two weeks. Jiraya sensei discovered her patrol route a year ago, she always goes on patrols around the border to ensure that troops are behaving."

"That is useful. We feared we'd have to attack closer to the Hidden Cloud village, but this is much better. We won't be so easily detected afterwards. But aren't we supposed to get the Hachibi host first?" Konan was curious.

"I know. But I have a little something that will keep a jinchuriiki docile until it's time to extract their wards." Naruto said, giving her a large paper tag with seals on it. "Jiraya did this to supress Kyuubi in case it tried something while we played with my seal. It will need some added work, but I'm sure Nagato is up to it."

He left the room. He knew he could move about unchallenged since all members of the organization were already gone. Nagato would study his little gift, while he studied Gedo Mazo some more. He needed to know what he was up against. And there was the matter of setting up the sibling deathmatch. That was going to be fun.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

He moved down the dark hallway made of stone towards a certain place. He found the heavy wooden door, barred with many metal locks and a few that were electronic, plus there were many security seals. Naruto was admitted inside since he was now a bearer of Madara's Akatsuki ring. It was only fair he got it, he killed him which was thought nearly impossible.

"Hi Jiraya-sensei!" Naruto greeted his teacher in a friendly manner. He set the tray with food on the table next to Jiraya's bed. Jiraya was lying down with his eyes closed, seeming relaxed and without a care. But it was a mask that couldn't fool Naruto and Jiraya knew it.

"You should eat, to keep up your strength." Naruto said as he took seat at the table. He looked around the cell briefly. It was small, bare of any comforts save for the bed, the table with two chairs, there was a ceiling light fixture,a small chemical WC and a shower stall. Just the basics for living.

"And why should I want to keep up my strength Naruto?" Jiraya asked wearily. He still ached from his and Nagato's unexpected betrayal. "You two are going to destroy the world. I can't bear to watch it, since it was me who taught you the way of ninja."

"Please!" Naruto chuckled in amusement. "You didn't teach me nothing save for the Rasengan, some other extra tricks you developed and your Senjutsu. If you really believed you helped me to grow stronger, well you were a good sword sparring partner. I needed it more than anything else."

"You consider Senjutsu irrelevant?" Jiraya asked in surprise. Truth be told, Naruto picked up that extremely difficult skill rather easily. It was as if he was already trained for it. He remembered the surprise on Pa's face as Naruto mastered the gathering of the Sage chakra in a month, without a mistake. His ability only grew until he was able to absorb the nature's energy while he moved, which was considered impossible until Naruto did it. As Naruto said, it wasn't hard for him to split his concentration between his regular motion and gathering the nature's chakra. Jiraya himself found it impossible to achieve, but Naruto's clever remarks led him to another trick-he figured out he could use a Shadow Clone to gather the nature's energy while he distracted his opponent. It was a brilliant move he'd have never thought to use until Naruto mentioned how he could split his concentration in two.

"It's impressive, but risky style of combat. I can use it and you too, but to make a mistake means instant petrification. That's unpleasant." Naruto said with a shrug.

"I suppose, but you know that no technique is without it's drawbacks."

"Hmm, yes. By the way, I killed Madara."

"What?" Jiraya's voice wavered in shock.

Naruto nodded looking at him seriously. "I did. It was agreed between myself and Nagato that Madara had to be removed. The man was getting too presumptuous in his ambition to rule the world."

"So Madara was the true founder of the Akatsuki?"

"No. He joined them back when they were still in the Rain Country, trying to create peace. He gave them more jutsus to study, he taught them to fight better and acted as an advisor. After Yahiko's death he took more proactive role in the organization and soon he took over. Nagato was too distracted with his new ambition to care, until recently. But Madara was too powerful to be ignored or killed, even by Nagato."

"Until now." Jiraya said with flat tone.

"Yes. He was careless with me, after they sucked Kyuubi out of me."

"So, he kept his word to revive you." Jiraya was surprised.

"He didn't have to. I was alive after it was done. Obviously my Uzumaki physiology was able to survive the stress."

"I don't get it. What's you being an Uzumaki got to do with anything?"

Naruto stared at Jiraya and suddenly laughed. "My, my..it seems that my father has kept some secrets even from you." Naruto didn't know many of these things himself, until he met Madara and squeezed his brain dry, so to speak.

"I don't know what you mean." Jiraya retorted angrily. Minato always trusted him more than anyone.

"Relax, I suppose he was under orders from Sarutobi. You see, I am the third jinchuriiki of Kyuubi."

"Impossible!" Jiraya breathed his denial.

"Oh, you have no idea what is possible sensei. You see, my clan is related to the Senju and we also had some special abilities. One of them was to block, to supress the biju with our chakra. Mind you, only a few of us had the gift."

"So Kushina was the second. Who was the first?" Jiraya asked.

"Shodai's wife, Uzumaki Mito. She helped him fight Madara at the Valley of the End. She used her knowledge of sealing and her special chakra to contain Kyuubi within herself. After Uzuoshigakure no Sato was destroyed, my mother was already in Konoha as she was chosen as Mito's inheritor."

"Shit. She was Tsunade's grandmother. I met her a few times. But she never had those whiskers like you. Not even Kushina did."

"Funny, isn't it. Everyone believed it was because of Kyuubi being sealed in me, but I had them already when I was born on that night. Madara was kind enough to show me what he did back then."

"So he was behind that?"

"Oh, yes. He killed the guards, Biwako-san and tried to kill my father. But he was outclassed by him and father removed his ability to summon the Kyuubi. Then he saw my mom dying and decided to seal it in me, to ensure that Konoha would have a weapon against Madara."

"I'm sure he didn't want you to suffer for it."

"Me too, but he would have done it anyway. He loved the village more than anything. More than me. I'm over it anyway. But I truly believe that Konoha has grown fat on the blood of it's heroes, and ungrateful. They will learn that mistakes and sins have to be paid for. It's the basic truth of our lives. I will show Konoha that they shouldn't have hated me."

"But Naruto, people always do stupid things. Every day of their damned lives, they make mistakes. Don't you think it's better you just forget it and move on? I swear, let me go and I'll forget you ever existed. I won't hunt you, I won't let anyone do it either. Go, live your life in peace, but I beg you to not do it. Not everyone is guilty of hating you."

"You talk well sensei, but you can't back that up. Besides, I'm doing it for every jinchuriiki that was and might be. You saw what Suna did to Gaara. I killed him and he was better off dead. I will make sure that no village can make a jinchuriiki again, ever!"

"I see. There is no way I can stop you."

"No. But you will live to see the world changed. Ninja villages will have to live without their precious weapons. I wonder which nation will be the strongest after their weapons are gone?"

"You will have to kill the other jinchuriiki. Can you do it?"

Naruto chuckled. "Oh, I can. Nagato has promised to revive each after we relieve them of their burden. I suppose that some will even join us."

Jiraya sighed in defeat. He was also convinced it was a possibility.

Naruto stood up. "See you later sensei. I'll be keeping you updated on our progress." He left the cell and closed the door knowing that Jiraya would be staying where he was. He couldn't escape his cell because of Nagato's ingenious security.

He chuckled to himself. If that didn't cement his image as someone who could be trusted, well he had other tricks up his sleeve. He hoped that Nagato bought his little 'justice will be done' charade.

"So, you've recovered already." Nagato spoke through his Deva Path. That one was a guy with short spiky orange hair. Naruto didn't know which power was his to wield, but it was surely something dangerous-he could feel it.

"I am as surprised as you are. But I made good on my part of our agreement-will you?"

"I suppose. If you do get killed in the near future, I will try to revive you. Is that good enough?"

"It will do." Naruto nodded slightly. "What's our next move?"

"Kakuzu and Hidan have acquired Nibi's host and are on the way here."

"That was fast."

"They are formidable ninjas, however flawed they might appear."

"I understand." Naruto said while thinking. Two weeks have passed quickly while he was being busy trying out his newly acquired eye ability and researching Gedo Mazo. He learned a lot and was already planning his next moves carefully. Gedo Mazo was built with Senju Hashirama's cells inside to be able to contain the biju, while it also served to grow more Zetsus who were not actually alive.

He had to give it to Madara, that guy really had imagination. He realized that Hashirama was a unique shinobi- a man who was a tree as much as he was human. It was very similar to Senjutsu gone wrong. Hashirama was a living Wood Sage, with his body being naturally able to generate specific chakra that gave Wood element as a result. On the other hand it was also a residue of Sage's ability to create things with his power of Izanagi. It was literally the power to make living wood. Madara realized it a long time ago and utilized it to recreate the ultimate Sharingan jutsu-their Izanagi that manipulated space and time to negate certain moments that occurred in reality.

Another interesting sideffect of absorbing Hashirama's cells was Madara's longevity. He didn't age as he used to, but that didn't mean he stopped aging altogether. Still, he was planing to do something about it after he conquered the world. He had time aplenty. Or so he believed.

Naruto already knew where he could absorb Hashirama's pure DNA. In Konoha. He certainly didn't want to mess with Zetsu who was some sort of mutated, artificial thing designed to serve Madara only.

"I think I should be going back to Konoha." He anounced to Nagato.

"Why?"

"I'm not needed here, not really. And Toads could figure out something and take action against me. I should go back and tell them what happened. Of course I will be the victim here. Konoha will know that you are the leader of the Akatsuki and some of your powers. But not the whole story. On the other hand, Jiraya's spy network will be mine now and out of function. Tsunade and the rest will automatically relax their guard around me knowing I'm no longer Kyuubi's host. I will be able to spy for you. And trust me, I'm still very powerful."

"How far did you go in your training?" Nagato asked.

Here comes the part where I have to appear to be trustworthy, Naruto grinned inwardly. He knew that Nagato was watching him while he talked with Jiraya. "I have mastered Senjutsu, like Jiraya. I'm sure you remember what he could do."

"That's impressive."

"Yes, and now I'll be even better without Kyuubi disturbing me. I am better than Jiraya at it. My chakra control is better than his ever was."

"Yes, I see. You will be able to wreak havoc upon Konoha when the time comes."

"Naturally. Also, I want to inform Sasuke where to find Itachi. It's time they faced off."

"Maybe. I agree with your plan, but first things first. Find me the Hachibi and bring him here. Can you do that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Consider it done. I don't need any help with that. You have done well with that seal array I gave you."

"Naturally. You do know that you have to tire the host before applying it?"

"Of course. It won't pose a problem for me."

"Well, you may leave. I expect you will return within ten days."

"Sure. By the way, what do you plan about Orochimaru?"

"Nothing yet. Why?"

"He could cause trouble. If he takes hold of Sasuke, he may gain sufficient power to put a wrench in our wheels, so to speak."

"Interesting. But unlikely."

"As you wish." Naruto said while scowling internally. That snake charmer was dangerous, but could prove useful. He knew a lot about Shodai and about Madara. He also had acess to the Impure World Resurrection technique, a jutsu to revive the dead temporarily. That could prove useful. He had some ideas how to get it from him.

Naruto was lying on the hard surface of the rocky hill within the Lightning Country, thinking how to approach his current task. He was relaxed, knowing that nobody saw him or felt his presence. He took his time to find the Hachibi's container, Killer Beee.

Killer Bee was impressive in his own right. The man was tall, built like a professional wrestler or boxer with massive musculature that spoke of great strength if nothing else. Dark skinned, with white moustache and beard, always carrying those swords of his-he was dangerous.

Naruto observed the jinchuriiki for several days, to see how he fought and thought. He couldn't afford to underestimate this man. And he learned that Bee was friendly with his biju, to the point he could temporarily switch with it to use it's body and abilities as his own. That was a surprise-Kyuubi would have never agreed to that. He didn't see Bee do it, he took that info from one of his guards he encountered while looking for him. The guard's memory was a key piece of information to make his strategy. It was going to be tricky.

Dust swirled in the air, clouds floated in the sky making patches of shadow below. Sun was high, a gigantic orb of light and heat that literally baked the land below. It was no wonder that nothing grew here, and air was humid from water that was rising from the surface of several small lakes that were nearby. That kind of geography was common in this country, which explained why Kumo ninjas were so fond of lightning jutsu. They were easy to make and launch in humid atmosphere, since water carried electricity well.

Naruto finally stood up and shun-shined close to the jinchuriki's lair. It was a simple tent at the bottom of the wide stairway that led up the rocky hill where some kind of shrine resided. It was of no interest to Naruto who was firmly focused on his soon to be opponent.

Wind blew from Naruto's right, disturbing his black cloak covered with red clouds. Naruto refused to wear his old headband nor he painted his nails like other members of the organization. He found the idea stupid. Why should anyone announce where he hailed from, which would also announce what kind of skills he had.

"Hey, is anybody here?" Naruto yelled and waited. He didn't have to wait for long. Bee's muscular form emerged slowly from the tent. He was looking bored and somewhat aggravated. Naruto knew it was a lie meant to lull him into a false sense of security. Bee was actually very alert and ready to fight.

"Yo! What's your game, coz' I find ya lame?" Bee sung at Naruto while waving his hands in a weird fashion. Naruto sighed. He should've known that Bee would be weird. Most powerful ninjas were, it was widely known. Kakashi and Gai were shining examples of that.

"I work for the Akatsuki. My boss sent me to take you with me so that we could extract your biju. He promises that you will be unharmed and returned home after we get what we want. So, will you come peacefully or not?"

Bee was silent, his head cocked slightly to his left. As if he was listening to someone. Which was most likely his biju. Naruto waited patiently. He was actually eager to fight.

"Nope, can't be done, this dude's trusting ya none!" Bee rapped back and assumed a fighting stance.

"Okay, I can live with that." Naruto shrugged and sent a few kunai at Bee who nimbly dodged the attack and rushed Naruto with his massive hands ready to crush his skull.

Naruto slid around his fists, countering with fast kicks that forced Bee to make distance between them. Naruto attacked then, moving fast and straight at the massive ninja, aiming low. Bee blocked several attempts at his abdomen and knees, while trying to grab Naruto in an obvious attempt to grapple. It was a sound strategy-Bee was stronger and bigger.

Naruto finally seemed to slip up, he didn't move fast enough to evade Bee's hand. Bee latched on his left forearm and pulled him closer. Just as he was about to smash his head in, Naruto molded his chakra and wind blades burst form his skin in a wild hurricane of chakra.

Bee had remarkable reflexes, he managed to escape with only a few cuts on his arms and torso. They were already healing, thanks to his biju. Naruto smirked openly, taunting his opponent.

Bee realized that close combat against an obvious wind user was unwise, not without proper tools. He unsheathed his many swords and soon he looked like a hedgehog with those metal blades sticking out of his body-shape.

Naruto unsealed two tanto blades and waited for Bee to attack. He was almost amused. Bee rushed without a care for his defense, moving swiftly like lightning, swirling and slashing and stabbing. Naruto used the open space to dodge and dance away from Bee's attacks, predicting each with the aid of the Force.

He had to admit, Bee was no slouch in swordfighting. He used his peculiar stance and movement to shield himself and attack at once, forcing his opponents to defend. And very few could match his speed and agility, he knew it.

Bee finally rolled away, stopping to catch breath. He frowned slightly. The blond kid took his attack without a scratch. He wasn't even breathing hard. He decided to step up his game. He gathered his chakra and channeled it intohis swords which begun glowing with lightning based chakra.

Bee looked like a glowing conglomeration of steel when he came at Naruto. Naruto merely channeled wind chakra in his tanto blades, they became immune to lightning chakra. Bee's attacks were deflected or dodged again.

"You'll have to try harder than that Killer Bee. Wind trumps lightning each time." Naruto taunted the man again, using the Force to make him feel angrier tha usual. He didn't wait for Bee to prepare again, but he focused his chakra and swung his blades as if he was using whips. Invisible bursts of wind chakra flew at Bee who wildly dodged around them, using his rudimentary chakra detection to survive the onslaught. Every ninja worth his salt could do that to a varying degree.

Bee finally decided to get serious. He abandoned his swords and red cloak of chakra enveloped his being. He was reeking of power and he launched himself at Naruto with unbelievable speed. Most ninjas wouldn't have had the time to dodge.

Naruto wasn't one of them. Bee's attack was foolishly straightforward, the man was aiming to tear his head of with his arm. Naruto saw him come and he saw what would happen before it happened-he dodged Bee's armored forearm and sliced at his back. Bee roared in pain as wind blade slightly pierced Hachibi's cloak. He suddenly blurred away with shunshin.

'Crap!' Bee thouht furiously at his biju. 'That guy isn't normal either. Nobody could just dodge my attacks like that. He is incredibly good. '

'HE FELT FAMILIAR, THOUGH,' Hachibi said to his host. 'THERE IS A POWER IN HIM, SOMETHING I HAVEN'T SENSED FOR A LONG TIME.'

'What is it?' Bee asked.

'I CAN'T SAY. I CAN'T REMEMBER.'

Bee didn't have time to talk further. He sensed attack coming and jumped away from his hiding spot. The rock wall behind him suddenly toppled down, cut in pieces by wind chakra.

"I guess I forgot to mention that I can track down chakra sources!" Naruto laughed and launched more wind attacks at Bee who sped around them while using Hachibi's chakra to aid him.

'Time for the second transformation!' Bee said to Hachibi and chakra surged forth, enveloping him in thick multitailed form that was seething with power and speed. He vanished from his spot and reappeared next to Naruto, ready to strike him.

Naruto's arm caught Bee's fist in an iron grip. Bee stared in shock at Naruto whose eyes were now yellow with orange rim around them. His strength was insane. Naruto smiled and kicked Bee in stomach, sending him fifty meters away, tumbling and rolling like a broken doll. Naruto added some Force push to his kick. He knew Bee would try this, so he was readying his Sage mode the whole time. He was itching to truly try it against someone he didn't have to spare.

Sage mode was a fantastic combat form, making his body hard as rock and fast as wind itself. Even his own ability to use the Force was maginified because his physical form was stronger, more able to endure the effort of channeling it. There was a good reason why the Jedi and the Sith trained hard. Strong body housed strong mind.

Naruto was next to Bee in an instant and kicking him high in the air. He jumped up and delivered a powerful kick downwards which sent the jinchuriiki into the ground like a meteor. Dirt and rocks flew upwards from the crack in the ground as Naruto landed on his feet. Bee's chakra didn't fade away, his power was too great to be overcome with mere punches and kicks. He flew from his hole at Naruto, but the blonde Sith was too fast. Truth be told, he would have been able to dodge Bee's attacks even in his normal form, thanks to his precognition.

They fought like two titans, exchanging blows and kicks at the speed of light. Naruto's Sage form provided him with Tsunade's strength, Orochimaru's agility and his father's speed. Bee was almost his equal. Almost.

Naruto waited for his chance as he blocked Bee's furious attacks and then he went at him with the attack he learned from Jiraya. He formed an enormous ball of chakra in his right, which quickly grew as big as him.

"Ultimate Rasengan!" Naruto screamed, just for fun, and drove the massive sphere of energy right at Bee. His tails moved in front of him reflexively, trying to block that monstrous attack.

Explosion of energy and sound drove both warriors apart by dozens of meters, raising dust and rocks in the air. Silence descended like a cloak over the clearing. Nothing moved.

'What was that?' Bee asked in pained shock. 'That was too much like a biju ball!'

'WE MUST ATTACK FULLY NOW! HE IS TOO DANGEROUS!' Hachibi roared.

Bee agreed. Power flowed again and everything went bright for a moment. He felt enormous in the next moment, full of power and his pain was a thing of past. He gathered energy in his throat, smiling grimly. It was time to show that annoying kid what was real chakra bomb!

He opened his/Hachibi's maw wide to annihilate that fool, and let loose. But he saw something, he felt it's power as it flew towards him. His eyes went wide in surprise-it was a mass of chakra flying right at him and he desperately changed aim to block it. To his disbelief another sphere of chakra, looking like a huge shuriken, just like the first, followed behind the one he blocked. There was no time to even blink before everything went white.

Naruto used the Force to stay where he was as a truly massive explosion rocked the valley, raising dust and stone for hundreds of meters around in a violent conflagration of energies released by his and Bee's attacks. He grinned to himself as his kinetic shield deflected the wave of displaced rock and air, his double Rasenshuriken attack was a thing of exquisite beauty. The first to counter Bee's chakra blast, the second to hit him right in the ugly mug.

He used the Force to search for Bee and found him floating on the surface of newly formed lake that came from below as their mutual attack opened the way for the water to come up.

He walked on the water calmly, releasing the Sage mode and crouched to pick up the jinchuriiki who appeared unconscious and badly beaten.

"Nice, very nice." Naruto whispered to himself and made a gripping gesture with his right hand. Down below the surface, Killer Bee stiffened and grabbed at his neck as if trying to dislodge the invisible hand that was choking him. His biju was alarmed as well, but unable to help. The attack they barely survived shocked Bee's body too much and he wasn't ready to transform again.

Naruto concentrated harder, his eyes narrowing and his fingers twitching as if he was feeling something, looking for a better grip.

'There!' He thought triumphantly and clamped on Bee's aorta that was the main conduit for the blood to his brain. In seconds Bee's struggles ceased as his blood pressure went down and he fell unconscious. His body was pulled upwards and Naruto floated it above the water, allowing Bee to breathe again. Bee's fake body dissolved into a tail of Hachibi's chakra, then it was fully gone. It was a nice decoy.

He applied Nagato's restraining seal on Bee and opened the portal to escape with his quarry unchallenged.

He entered the pocket dimension that existed parallel next to his own. Just like Madara could, he could enter it as well. But his own was slightly different. Whereas Madara's dimension held a set of platforms atop square vertically elongated blocks, his dimension was a flat singular round surface whose walls were pitch black. It was as if he stood within a dome without entrance or exit. The walls were seemingly endless void, which was just an illusion since they absorbed light.

He set Bee down on the yellow surface and sat down too. He wasn't going to return to the Akatsuki's lair while tired. He smiled with satisfaction-his combat skills were uncompromised by the loss of Kyuubi. It was well that he never learned to rely on the beast within. There were better ways to fight than using raw power. Even Jiraya would have been able to attack Bee, although not so easily.

The most important thing was, he didn't need to rely on the Force wholly. He was quite strong on his own and that was good to know. The Force just gave him an invisible edge that no one truly suspected.

Oh, Nagato knew he had some extra skills, but he didn't really know what he was capable of. He was still safe, underestimated. His little invisible chameleon watcher would show him no more than he expected to see. Naruto chuckled to himself. It was almost funny to consider. That Rinnegan was interesting, maybe he should take one for himself. Or maybe talk Nagato into giving him one. He obviously could share it with his puppets he called his paths.

Still, he had to plan carefully. The next was to stage Itachi-Sasuke reunion. And it was time for Orochimaru to die. Soon.

As he was pondering his future moves, a shadow shifted from Bee's lying form and merged with Naruto's own. The young Sith frowned as he felt something, but then relaxed. It was nothing, he thought no more about it. He had important things to ponder about.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

"You've succeeded." Konan stated with cool face as Naruto passed her by at the entrance to the Akatsuki's hideout. He was carrying the massive unconscious form of Killer Bee in a fireman's carry, looking totally relaxed.

"Of course!" Naruto grinned with false cheer, looking back at the woman. "Did you really doubt I could do my job?"

Konan shrugged cooly. "You're young still."

"But my spirit is old." Naruto joked and Konan was forced to lengthen her stride to catch up with the young blond. "Say, how goes our effort?"

"Well. While you were gone, Pein has sent others to collect their own targets. He was confident of your success. We have gained the custody over two more hosts."

They passed several tricky layers of security, then they were within the cave system proper. The walls were damp, jagged like teeth of a subterranean monster, the light was low. Small nocturnal creatures moved about, silent and quick.

Lichen grew in patches here and there, stalactites crawled from the above like unseen spears that could fall at anytime on their heads. The air was slightly stale, carrying the smells of dampness and rot that was everywhere.

"Shichibi and Rokubi? That quick?"

Konan smiled in darkness. "Pein has sent Kakuzu and Hidan to acquire the Shichibi, while he went himself after the Rokubi."

Naruto whistled in surprise. "Wow, he's certainly moved fast! That will catch the ninja villages by surprise. There's five more to be gathered."

"Indeed, we will get them later. Our priority was to gather as many of the biju as possible in the shortest period. We mustn't let the ninja vilages to mount an organized defense."

"Konoha and Mist will protect Sanbi, who is unsealed. In fact, if I were in their position I'd seal him in a child right away and then I'd hide them somwhere where nobody would've thought to look. It would buy them some time at the least, until they could deal with us."

Konan paused in her walk, blinking fast. "Why do that? Our spies have already helped us locate the other jinchuriiki. They would do so again."

Naruto chuckled in amusement. "You mean, Madara's spies. They are no longer reliable, not without Madara who was able to move around unnoticed. We can't do that, so we can't use his spies. Besides, I'm quite sure they are going to make sure that only one or two people are aware of the location of said possible jinchuriiki. Maybe just one very trusted ninja who'd also pose as the child's caretaker and trainer."

"That's a lot of speculation." Konan looked unsure.

"Suit yourself. But I'd still ask Pein if it was possible." Naruto said and they kept moving until they reached the grand cavern where Gedo Mazo was.

It was the same, momentous cavern and the demonically looking statue was vibrating with malevolent aura for Naruto's senses. He could feel Kyuubi writhing within it's new prison, just a massive concentration of hot rage and with no mind whatsoever.

Naruto found it peculiar every time he approached the statue, Kyuubi was usually always that massive, malevolent mind lurking within his belly, always watching and yearning to burst out and devour him. But now, the mind was almost gone. It was just an animal, desiring freedom and destruction.

* * *

Naruto deposited Killer Bee in the corner of a cell assigned to him, it was just like Jiraya's. There was another person in it, Yugito Nii of Kumogakure no Sato.

Yugito was tall, blond kunoichi with slit irises marking her as Nibi no Nekomata's host. She was well endowed, but slightly muscular which revealed her intense kunoichi training.

Now, she looked shocked. "Killer Bee! How did you get him?"

Naruto removed Bee's restraining seal, thus allowing the man to wake up later on his turned his head to regard Yugito coldly. "I defeated him and brought him here. He was a tough nut to crack."

"You?" Yugito hissed angrily, just like a cat would. "You don't look old enough to shave, punk!"

"True, I don't need to shave, but what does that have to do with my skills?"

"What village do you hail from?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"So that I can take your head to your Kage asshole! Mark my words, when I escape I will kick your ass for attacking Bee-sama!"

"Huh, big words from a jinchuriiki who couldn't defeat Hidan and Kakuzu. I could take them out by myself." Naruto sneered.

Yugito hissed again, rising to her feet. But Naruto's cold gaze stopped her. There was something in it, something dangerous.

"So, you do have some smarts Yugito Nii," Naruto nodded. " I won't kill you nor your Bee-sama. You are here merely to be freed from your burden. I will ask Leader-sama to free you after we extract Hachibi and Nibi."

"Hmph, you're lying. Everybody knows that biju hosts can't survive the extraction. We are dependant upon our biju's chakra." Yugito expressed her opinion coldly, crossing her arms under her chest area giving her upper body even more appeal than usual. Naruto smiled inwardly, she was a consummate kunoichi who was still trying to find a way out of her predicament by trying to seduce her captor.

"Oh, is that so?" Naruto replied while raising his shirt to show her his seal. "I admit that the extraction ritual is quite painful, but as you can see I am quite alive."

Yugito gaped in shock. That seal was so complex, she had never seen something like that. It was obviously meant to contain something very, very powerful. "Who designed that? It's..."

"So, you recognize quality work when you see it. I guess that Yondaime Hokage would've been proud of being admired. His work is quite complex, don't you agree?"

"You are from Konoha? But..." Yugito stared at Naruto in sudden realization. "You were Kyuubi's container."

"I was, but no more thanks to leader of the Akatsuki. His offer was not something to refuse."

"But why would you betray your village?"

"Because I didn't volunteer to be stuffed with Kyuubi. And my co-villagers dared to blame me for Kyuubi's actions on that night. What a bunch of ungrateful hypocrites! They survived only because their beloved Hokage sacrificed me for their sake, and they in turn spat on his sacrifice by refusing to honor his last wish, that I be respected for protecting them from harm."

"I see. If you were born in Kumo, you'd have had the respect you deserved."

"Perhaps, but somehow I doubt that. We, the jinchuriiki, are just weapons to be used. Nothing more nor less. You may be respected, but that doesn't erase the truth of my words. I decided to help the Akatsuki to disarm the hidden villages so that no more people are turned into demon hosts. You will be allowed to live and return to your homes with this knowledge."

"You're crazy," Yugito shook her head sadly. "There is no way that hidden villages will let you do as you like."

"Too bad, we already have you two and Shichibi and Rokubi are on the way too. In a few weeks there will be only two biju free-Sanbi and Ichibi. And I already know where Ichibi will reform itself. Sanbi is poorly protected, our organization will get it easily enough."

Yugito was shaken, Naruto sensed it clearly. He turned around to leave. "How did you defeat Bee-sama?"

Naruto looked back at her and smiled. "Ask him when he wakes. I'm sure he'll have a story to tell. Tell him I was impressed with his skills. Too bad I was trained by Jiraya of the Sannin."

Naruto was treasuring Yugito's wideeyed expression as he exited the cell.

* * *

They were all together. The greatest assembly of the most powerful missing ninjas in the Elemental Nations, some in flesh, some as holograms-all standing atop Gedo Mazo's fingertips.

Kakuzu, Hidan, Naruto, Pein and Konan were there in person, while the rest were solid looking projections.

Pein was looking at the rest with calm gaze, while his aura exuded warm glow of satisfaction to Naruto's Force senses. "We welcome Uzumaki Naruto to our ranks as a full member. He has proven his ability and loyalty by acquiring the host of Hachibi alone."

"What?" Hidan asked in surprise. "Are you saying that this brat took on Hachibi alone and won."

" I do, and he did so without getting injured, which is more than can be said for yourself." Pein stated coldly. The statement drew stares towards Naruto, in some cases they were full of challenge for the young Sith Lord.

"We have gathered four biju so far, and we will get others as well. The quicker, the better. Hidden villages haven't organized themselves yet, so we still have time to move relatively unhindered. Gobi will be hunted by Hidan and Kakuzu, assisted by Deidara. Kisame and Sasori will get Yonbi, while Sanbi will be Itachi's and Naruto's job."

"Why do you change our groupings?" Sasori wondered in his deep voice.

" A mere precaution Sasori-san," Pein replied. "We are too close to our goal to allow any accidents. While our enemies are still disorganized, it doesn't mean they won't move after us. The extra men will serve as guards, as distractions."

"But I usually work with Itachi-san." Kisame complained. "We know each other rather well. It's easier when you work with someone familiar."

"So do Naruto-san and Itachi-san," Pein countered calmly. "They hail from the same village. They can work together easily enough. Besides, their target is the weakest of the lot. They will suffice."

Pein's words were law in the organization since nobody suspected that Uchiha Madara was in charge once. Except Itachi, that is. Naruto sensed Itachi's confusion and worry- Madara was supposed to kill Naruto or assign that task to someone else.

Naruto supressed a smile coming on his face. Itachi was going to be very, very surprised later.

"What's our timetable?" Naruto asked Pein.

"You move in five days, all of you. Get some rest and then go. I will begin extracting Hachibi in the meantime."

" I do have one small request Leader-sama," Naruto said to Pein. "Please, I'd like that the hosts are kept alive after the extraction. They are but tools, most of them unwillingly so."

"Bah, who cares!" Deidara exclaimed. "We should just go and do our thing. And maybe blow up a village or two."

Naruto's heavy killing intent flooded the cavern, and Deidara stiffened despite not being really there. He could sense it, that massive pressure of someone else's chakra laced with anger. Deidara felt his throat clench tight, as if someone tried to choke him slightly.

"Enough!" Pein shouted while his own eyes seemed to loom in front of Naruto, filling his vision with dreadful silver orbs that seemed to swallow his own intent. Naruto inwardly sneered at the feeble attempt to intimidate him and cut of his own projection focusing on Pein again.

"We will not quarrel amongst ourselves," Pein stated icily. "It is I who will decide what we do and when we will do it. In this case I will follow Uzumaki-san's suggestion and these jinchuriiki will be allowed to live and spread the word of our power. It will only aid us in our quest as a psyhological factor. This meeting is finished."

* * *

Naruto created two Shadow Clones in the hallway, before anyone could notice. They immediately faded away using their ability to warp space and time to move instantly between two spots.

The first reappeared near one of Orochimaru's hideouts. It was well hidden, but not for the Sith. Naruto sighed in disappointment. Oroachimaru took his connection to snakes too seriously. Really, a hole that led to the underground, filled with halls and chambers and few guards and prisoners for experiments.

Orochimaru was there as well. He was well hidden, but he had a foolish habit of dragging with him a few precious mementos. Like his old Akatsuki ring. He probably thought it was harmless, but the truth was far from it.

Each ring was fashioned by the same person, Pein. Thus they all had similar energy signature which was easily tracked by Naruto who now posessed one of those. Naruto simply used his own ring to 'scent' the others and with careful questing through the Force he could pinpoint their approximate locations.

He looked down and 'projected' his vision through the Force and phased through the soil and entered the hideout. A few repeats of that and he was standing in the same room as Orochimaru.

Naruto's clone didn't have any Force powers, but even he could see that the Sannin was not all that healthy. He was in his bed, his sitting form sweating and panting. There were bottles on the table next to the bed, probably his drugs.

"You!" Orochimaru hissed as soon as he saw the clone who was wearing Madara's outfit now. "How did you come here?"

The clone decided to play it safe and mimicked Madara's manner of speaking. "That's my business Orochimaru. I see you're getting close to your next body transfer. It must irk you that Sasuke-kun is so far away."

Orochimaru scowled, but dare not reply. It only confirmed that Orochimaru knew more about Madara than he was supposed to.

"You seem to know a bit about myself Orochimaru, more than I ever suspected." Naruto's clone prodded the Snake Sannin. "But that's not relevant."

Orochimaru supressed the shiver at those words. They clearly indicated that the feared Uchiha was more powerful than he imagined.

The clone went on. "I suppose you belive you know of my plans more than anyone, but I assure you it's not so. To business then. I have come to get from you something I want. The Impure World Resurrection technique, you will give it to me."

Orochimaru burst into laughter, cackling like a madman. "Ku,ku,ku! What makes you think I will give it to you?"

"Why, I'll lead you to Sasuke-kun directly. I believe you want his body ad he is so strong now. Plus, he's working for Danzo. That makes him useless to me now. I had high hopes for him, you know. Danzo must've burned out his anger by now, so I won't be able to use it against him. Pity."

Orochimaru's reptilian eyes fixated at the clone. "Do you really believe that I would trust your words? That you'd be willing to write off the noble blood of the Uchiha as useless?"

"That little brat is nothing compared to what real Uchiha is supposed to be." Naruto sneered successfully imitating the ancient Uchiha. "He's but a shadow of what we used to be. But what else could be expected of a child raised by Senju dogs! No my little snake charmer, you can have that child, he is of no value to me now. I suppose Itachi will have to do."

Orochimaru's breath stopped. To hear one such as Madara speak so, he had to wonder what was the man really capable of in his days of youth and prominence. There were many tales of the old Uchiha and his feats, some easily considered as fantasy. But now, the Sannin had to wonder.

"Why would you want that jutsu? I hardly can think of any warrior you could raise that isn't matched by those already working for you."

"True, but there are some warriors I knew who could serve me well again. I do know of your attempt to use Hashirama and Tobirama against your teacher. You cost me two valuable potential pawns, you know. I was ready to eliminate you then, but I stayed my hand. I learned a long time ago that decisions based on emotion are not good."

"So, now you are willing to give me Sasuke?"

"For a fair price."

"How can I know you'll keep your word?"

"You can't. That's why I will give you the boy and then you will give me what I want. Be warned, I am still beyond any skill you posses. It will take you some time to truly master Sasuke's body, so I know you won't be able to renege on our agreement. Then you can walk away. I do warn you, do not try to kill Itachi. He is more powerful than you imagine."

Orochimaru wasn't listening, he was salivating at the thought of gaining Sasuke's body and Sharingan eyes. "Very well. You offer is more than generous. When do we move?"

"I need to locate Sasuke-kun first, outside the village. I must know, how long does it take to change bodies?"

"It's quick and assured process. Just get me close and I'll do the rest. I'll need guards to keep away his ROOT partners."

"Good, than we have a deal."

"We do." Orochimaru grinned sickly, his long tongue sneaking between his pale lips hungrily. "If all goes well, I will demonstrate the jutsu right then so you can be sure I gave you the real thing." Not to mention that he would use some very special people to test Madara's power as he fled.

"How kind of you. In fact I will ask a favor from you. You will use Sasuke-kun's body to infiltrate Konoha and eliminate Danzo. He could prove annoying later on."

"Oh, I will do so." Orochimaru grinned, immediately relinquishing the idea of attacking Madara. He had to save his summons for Danzo. The old coot knew too much about him anyway. First Danzo, then Madara and Akatsuki. Using Sasuke as cover, he would have the whole of Konoha at his back. "By the way, is it true that Jiraya is dead? The rumor is that he met one of your underlings and didn't survive."

"Ah, that's not so. He is enjoying our hospitality, since he has some valuable skills I might employ."

"Jiraya would never work for you." Orochimaru scoffed, feeling confident in his former friend's resilience.

"I never said so. But there are ways to take what we need, when we need it." There was a sound of smug malice in those words, reminding Orochimaru again who was it in front of him. "Be ready, I will bring Sasuke –kun to you before too long."

* * *

Sasuke jumped up, making a somersault. He released a veritable storm of shuriken at various targets, hitting each in the bulls eye with ease. He extended his right kand and light burst from it, shaping itself into a long spear of ligtning chakra that cut though rocks like hot knife through butter.

He suddenly vanished from sight, reappearing next to masked Naruto's Shadow Clone ready to kill him with his chokuto. Naruto's clone ducked and shun-shinned away, evading Sasuke's follow up with a burst of shuriken.

"Whoa! I come in peace, don't kill me!" The clone exclaimed, waving his arms comically.

Sasuke's twin Sharingans spun, blazing and scanning the apparition in front of the young Uchiha. "You're a Shadow Clone. And seeing your chakra, I can't help but feel as if I've seen it before."

The clone grinned smugly under his mask. He suspected it would be so. His chakra signature did change after the extraction of his furry burden. "I'm Tobi! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi says he's never met Sasuke-san before!"

Sasuke stared blandly, he was a little perturbed by this person. "What do you want? You're not from Konoha."

"Oh, no, Tobi is from far away. He is a friend though." Naruto spoke in a childish way, keeping up the pretense. He had to admit, it was kind of fun to mess with people that way. Maybe that's why Kakashi enjoyed being so late.

Nah, Kakashi was really that way.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanna tell you a message."

"What?"

"That's right. Itachi-san wants to meet you."

Sasuke's calm was shattered like glass being thrown to the floor. He was next to Naruto's clone, lifting him of his feet. "You where is he? Tell me!"

The clone struggled briefly, pretending being scared. Sasuke's cursed seal flared to life, covering half of his skin with black tattoos. "He's waiting for you at the old Uchiha hideout outside this village. He says you will know where is it."

"And I'm supposed to belive that?"

"I will take you there myself. Itachi-san is very scary, he'd kill me if something happened to you before he gets to meet you."

"So you don't work for him."

"Oh, no! Tobi works for another person who is even scarier than Itachi-san. And I don't want to be a bad boy! Or Leader-sama will punish Tobi, bad."

Sasuke released the cowardly clone, frowning. "What guarantees do I have that he will be alone?"

The clone shrugged. "You don't. Tobi can't make promises for others. But Tobi really is a good boy and he will take Sasuke-san to where he needs to be. If Sasuke-san wants it, he can take friends with him."

"I see. Then meet me tomorrow at dawn here. I will have three other ninjas as backup."

"Hai! Tobi will come! You can trust Tobi!" Naruto's clone said, sounding happy like a child given a candy for good behaviour. And he promptly shun-shinned away and vanished via his wormhole jutsu, before Sasuke managed to follow him.

When real Naruto received memories of his clones, he smiled. Everything was going just as planned. He would deliver Sasuke into Orochimaru's hands, then he would send Orochimaru to kill Danzo and sabotage Konoha's efforts in organizing other villages into an alliance that was surely coming.

With Orochimaru kept busy with his new body, with Itachi going rogue to free his beloved brother, the Akatsuki would be also distracted. Hmm, there were a few things to be ironed out in his plans, but first things first.

He had to meet Itachi and gauge his personality first hand. Then he could plan how to manipulte the elder Uchiha. The capture of Sanbi in five days would do. Besides, Orochimaru would need a few days to get used to sasuke's body, so it was just as well that he had some time before going further with his plans.

* * *

**I'm sorry for the delay my dear readers. Life is full of things we don't control. I admit I could've done this sooner, but somehow I just felt that my muse wasn't on my side until today. It's a bit short chapter, but rest assured I will update again soon. It's tad complicated to juggle the scenario I have in my head, and I'm still undecided on how to do certain stuff.**

**Again, I apologize for waiting so long before updating. Darn, it's really difficult to write sometimes. Look at Kishimoto, he's filling the story with so many ne-old characters. While it may seem just to fill the story, I gotta say he's good at inventing new jutsus and skills like with those Kumo brothers. They are a bit outrageous, what with their ability to survive being eaten by Kyuubi, but that's just a comic. Not that I'd ever thnk of something like that. Anyway, it's all building up to a big Sasuke-Naruto clash. But it will a long while before ut happens.  
**

**Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, it was very stimulating. I hope that you all will enjoy my story as it develops further. **

**Bye, and have a nice day folks!  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

Naruto stood in the same spot where he met Sasuke for the first time in his disguise as Tobi. He didn't wait too long, Sasuke was on time for their meeting. The Uchiha wore a black shinobi suit, very ANBU-ish, except he had a sword on his hip and wore no mask.

"Ah! Sasuke-san, you're alone. I'm touched you trust me so much. Tobi will be a good boy." Naruto greeted his ex teammate with an exaggerated posturing that made him look like a hyperactive five year old.

"Shut up, I never said I was going with you." Sasuke replied coldly.

"Oh?"

"I'm not an idiot," Sasuke glared at Naruto/Tobi. "I know you're working for the same people like him. I can't trust you. This is how it's going to be-you will give my message to Itachi so he can know where to find me. There is an ancient Uchiha hideout known only to our people. We will meet there in three days. Alone."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Well, well...Sasuke got smarter. Not by much. "Oh, I can't say that to him in face, he'll use those awful eyes on me! No, no, Tobi is a good boy, but Tobi isn't stupid!"

"I don't care." Sasuke scoffed. He tensed when he saw the masked person in front of him reach under his coat, but it was just a scroll. "What is that?"

"A scroll, Sasuke-san!" Naruto spoke in childlike fashion "You can write your reply in it and I'll give it to Itachi-san. That way I'll be able to stay away until he is calm again."

"My brother doesn't throw temper tantrums," Sasuke said with raised eyebrows, expressing his scepticism.

"Not like most people, I agree," Naruto singed and danced playfully, "but we both know he does awful things to people when he's not happy."

Sasuke glared fiercely at the masked man, then calmed down. "Fine, I'll do it. Give me the scroll."

Naruto grinned under the mask. "Oh, thank you, thank you! Here, take it!"

When Sasuke reached for it, stepping closer to Naruto, it was too late for him to react as he felt a pulling sensation. The world rippled, then solidified again, but he wasn't in the same place. He could only curse himself for his naivette, that Tobi guy was setting him up the whole time!

His chokuto was in his hand, his Sharingan blazing red. He was in some sort of underground passage, that much was obvious. Which begged the question was –who made it?

Somehow, he doubted he'd like the answer. One thing was certain though, Itachi wasn't around.

He started to move cautiously, instinctively brushing the walls with his back. He knew he was being watched.

* * *

"Ku,ku,ku.." Orochimaru was grinning diabolically as he watched Sasuke move. Like a mouse in snake's den. Madara truly outdid himself. Orochimaru didn't think it would happen, but the legendary shinobi did keep his word.

Sasuke was perfect, Orochimaru noticed how the boy moved. Danzo sure did a great job in training his body and eyes, now fully evolved.

* * *

Naruto sighed as he saw a long blade of lightning chakra stick out of his chest. "My, my...someone is mad at poor me."

Sasuke was standing behind him, glaring. He cancelled the jutsu. "You tried to feed me to Orochimaru."

"Obviously, I failed." Naruto chuckled as he phased to stand a few steps in front of Sasuke. They were both standing at the edge of the local forest, somewhere in the Rice Country where Orochimaru kept one of his many hidey holes.

Naruto studied Sasuke through his otherworldly senses. He truly was in control, but Orochimaru wasn't gone. It was like he was sealed in Sasuke, just like Kyuubi once was within Naruto.

_So, that's how he did it! _Naruto concluded. He simply created a reverse jinchuriiki of sorts. His cursed seal was designed to 'seal' Orochimaru's essence in the host, so that he may jump in it and latch on the host's chakra and connect to his essence. Then he'd overpower his host's will and chakra with his own, which by then was totally immersed within the host's chakra system.

Orochimaru was in fact sealing himself inside his hosts, only the seal was designed to let him overtake his hosts from within. It was similar to the seal Suna used on their jinchuriiki. That seal was barely holding back the demon, it heavily depended upon the host's will to function.

There was one problem with Cursed Seal-if the host had strong will or spirit, then Orochimaru was in trouble. Which he solved by choosing young gullible hosts who could be either tricked or coerced into letting him win the contest of wills. Besides, he was a chakra monster in his own right, against whom few normal people or shinobi could prevail.

Uchiha Sasuke obviously wasn't one of those. His potent dojutsu and inherited powerful spiritual energy were too much for the snake summoner. Such was the potency of the Uchiha bloodline. Orochimaru was truly a fool to think he could overpower a bearer of the bloodline capable of controlling people and tailed beasts.

But Sasuke didn't win fully. If his chakra were to be close to depletion, Orochimaru could emerge and attack Sasuke from within when he is weak. Unfortunately, Naruto had no time or desire to wait for such an event. He'd have to settle for some goals, while others had to be discarded. He smiled under the mask, there were more ways to achieve certain goals.

"I suppose you'll be going back to Konoha," Naruto said and made a non-committing gesture.

"I have no choice," Sasuke replied coldly. "I can't kill you now, so I have to let you go."

"Thanks, that's good to hear!" Naruto chuckled loudly, dismissing Sasuke's threat. "But do you really believe that Danzo will let you come back? By now, he knows you've left Konoha without authorization and he will have you checked out. When he discovers that you have Orochimaru inside you, well..."

Sasuke looked non-plussed. He was aware how callous his boss was.

"As expected, you've failed to consider such a possibility Sasuke-san. Tut-tut, you're not as smart as I was hoping." Naruto taunted.

"Why don't you get to the point, you bastard?" Sasuke hissed coldly, "I'm sure you've got an idea how to solve my problem. You set me up, again!"

"Hi, hi,hi..." Naruto laughed at his clueless ex teammate. "You're absolutely right. But have no worries, this will actually go in your favor. You see, I know some things about Danzo that no one else suspects. It is coincidentally tied to the murder of your clan."

Sasuke went stone still. He was very curious. His rage was stilled, like a calm before the storm.

"You must've realized by now, after testing your powers extensively that there wasn't a chance that Itachi-san could've killed every Uchiha by himself. Nor that he could've escaped without being noticed. It is awfully suspect how ANBU patrols never detected signs of battle within the Uchiha district, nor how no alert was successfully raised or noticed." Naruto begun explaining.

"I...did notice some suspicious things," Sasuke was forced to agree. He did believe his brother had help, but not at that scale. "Speak more."

"Yes, Itachi had help. Danzo."

"Why would Danzo want the death of my clan? He is always concerned with village's prosperity, by any means. My clan was one of the greatest military assets to the village." Sasuke questioned Naruto's suggestions.

"Normally, I would agree. But Danzo's greatest ambition isn't Konoha's prosperity. He wants to be the Hokage who would then turn Konoha into his ideal of what a hidden village is supposed to be- a village of ninja who were utterly loyal, unquestioning and willing to do anything they were ordered. His tools he could use as he saw fit without any concern for their lives or freedom. You've seen what ROOT is like. Can you really believe that your clan would allow their members be more loyal to him than to the clan?"

Sasuke looked troubled, so Naruto pressed on, striking the metal while it was hot. "You see, don't you? Besides, your clansmen were his political adversaries. They never liked having ROOT around, they considered it an insult to their authority as the police force. When Itachi came along, Danzo decided to use the opportunity. He helped him achieve his first step to his ultimate goal, while he got rid of a major obstacle on his path to power. Also, he gained a lot of freshly killed Sharingan users to experiment with."

"What?" Sasuke asked in shock.

"Oh, he did all sorts of nasty things to them. He was trying to create a way for himself to obtain the power to control Kyuubi, I mean Uzumaki Naruto."

"Explain!" Sasuke shook with anger. That man used him!

"Of course. You see, he was also working with Orochimaru. He needed the traitor's knowledge about bloodlines to sucessfully graft on himself Shodai's cells to gain his Mokuton bloodline, yet he also used Uchiha Shisui's eye to replace his own. By now you know he never removes his bandages and pretends that his right arm is useless. Shisui's eye was his goal from start-that Uchiha was feared for his ability to use his Sharingan to control other people without them ever knowing about it. Like super hypnotism, if you will."

"He wanted to combine two bloodlines able to control the biju," Sasuke concluded. "I know that Naruto is Kyuubi's host, which explained his uncanny power. I was led to believe that it would be my job to ensure he never got out of hand."

"Too late for that Sasuke-kun," Naruto chuckled. "Our organization has already extracted Naruto's demon. Kyuubi is ours, for good."

"Then Naruto is dead." Sasuke said. He was disapointed, he wanted to fight Naruto to finally determine who was stronger. With his eyes, Kyuubi would've been no help to the blond.

"Hardly so, he somehow survived the procedure and is now our esteemed guest. Just as are the other jinchuriiki. Oh, and we have Jiraya of the Sannin in our custody as well."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to run. "What do you people want? What is your goal?"

"Leader –sama wants to bring peace to the world, but for that he needs power to make the world listen."

" I see, " Sasuke said with narrowed eyes. "You've brought me here to send a message to Konoha."

"In a way," Naruto agreed. "Well, on to the rest. Danzo helped Itachi to get what he wanted. Do you want to know what was so important to Itachi that he was willing to let Danzo gain such powers?"

"You know I do." Sasuke replied angrily.

"I suppose you already know what is Mangekyou Sharingan and how to obtain it, but there is a price for that power, just as it always is-when an Uchiha gains that eye, he is also cursed."

"Cursed, how?"

"The power of the Mangekyou is great, but it also exacts a heavy toll on the user's eyes. Each use brings the user closer to blindness and it can't be stopped. Your brother wasn't the only Mangekyou user in your clan, many of the Uchiha were tempted to obtain it's power so they killed their loved ones for it. But they inevitably lost their sight in the end and were destroyed. Your clan forbade such a practice many years ago as it was pointless." Naruto said.

"So why would my brother desire such a thing? To end up blind, there is no worse fate for the Uchiha!"

"True, but there was one solution. Itachi learned of one Uchiha who has managed to avoid getting blind, his name was Uchiha Madara."

Sasuke frowned. "Wasn't he one of the founders of Konoha?"

Naruto nodded. "He was. Madara was one of the most powerful shinobi in history, second only to the Shodaime Hokage. Like his brother Izuna, Madara discovered how to obtain the Mangekyou. They both had it and used it's power to become leaders of the Uchiha and they led the clan to greatness and fame. But these new eyes caused them to weaken and loose sight. Izuna less so, he wasn't as quick to use the Mangekyou as his older brother. Madara was afraid and so he desperately sought a way to prevent his fate. How exactly he discovered it, I can't say, but he took Izuna's eyes instead of his own and gained the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, the eyes that held the power of both brothers and never lost it's light."

Sasuke's face was a picture of revulsion. "He intends to steal my eyes? But I still don't have the Mangekyou."

"Itachi believes that it's not important, as long as he takes your eyes. He will still have his own Mangekyou techniques, but without the terrible cost. I suppose he planned to go far away and reestablish the clan in his own image. Neat, eh?"

"If I beat him, I could do the same, couldn't I?" Sasuke asked.

"Possibly. But to do it, you must get rid of Danzo first. Danzo also knows this and will do everything to prevent Itachi from becoming too powerful. It is quite logical to assume that Itachi will kill Danzo anyway, to remove the threat of being outmaneuvered."

"Danzo will try to kill me then," Sasuke realized. "If he destroys my eyes, Itachi will go blind and vulnerable."

Naruto nodded. Sasuke never realized it, but his long winded story had another purpose - to lower down Sasuke's mental defenses so that Naruto's subtle emotional manipulation through the Force could work. It wasn't anything big, but sometimes even the lightest touch in the right spot could topple the mountain. Sasuke has effectively become Danzo's sworn enemy.

"So you must remove him first. And the easiest way to do it is to expose him to your current Hokage, Tsunade, and the rest of the ninja higher ups."

"I can't," Sasuke growled. "Danzo has placed a seal on me to prevent me from talking about him. Every ROOT agent has it."

"But does it prevent you from approaching Hyuuga Hiashi and asking him to check out what lies under Danzo's bandages?"

"It does actually. Danzo is very paranoid." Sasuke answered with annoyed expression.

"Okay then, I'll write the message and you show it to Hiashi-san. That should pique his interest. It should prove entertaining."

Naruto was quick to write to Hiashi and he gave the note to Sasuke. "That should be it. Are you ready to go back?"

Sasuke gave him a stare that said more than a thousand words. It promised retribution. He never liked being used against his will.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi raised his eyebrow in that arrogant way that was so natural for him when someone dropped a scroll in front of him. His Byakugan went active in the same second, but whoever delivered the thing was gone far away. Probably through the use of shunshin.

His eyes scanned the scroll and couldn't find anything suspicious. Still, to be sure he created one Shadow Clone, momentarily smirking to himself-just because his clan generally avoided using jutsus, that didn't mean they didn't know any. He was a jounin after all.

When he received his clone's memory, he was momentarily stunned. This information was unbelievable! He thought furiously, the Council was supposed to convene in thirty minutes. Godaime Hokage has summoned them to hear the latest news about the Akatsuki. She needed their input.

Hiashi found this scroll delivery awfully convenient. For him and some other councillors that is. Maybe it would pay to have a short chat with that Nara Shikaku, no matter how difficult he may be at times.

* * *

The Council was in full assembly, Tsunade noticed as she sat at the head of the long, rectangular table made by her venerable grandfather. The wood was harder than steel, and looked like polished brown marble. Designs on it's surface represented Konoha's and Fire Country's sigils, intertwined and equal as it should be always. Both were a symbiotic union of power and prestige that lasted for nearly a century.

The clan heads were assembled, calm and curious. She rarely invited them to such a gathering, but this was obviously urgent. They had no idea. When she first heard the news, she was caught in a whirlwind of anger and fear, but now only hope held her firm. She resolved to stay so, until the worst was either confirmed or not. She was the Fifth Hokage.

"Tsunade, we're all here Would you please start the meeting?" Koharu asked politely, her old wrinkled face like stone. She was outwardly cold and harsh, but Tsunade knew that the woman was worried.

"Thank you Koharu, I will. This is the latest news we have on the Akatsuki-they have captured Jiraya and Naruto, plus an undisclosed number of other jinchuriiki."

There was a shocked silence. Nobody could comprehend how could someone capture both Naruto and Jiraya.

"Are..."

"They are alive, for now." Tsunade answered Inuzuka Tsume's question. "That I know for sure, since they both still have their names on the lists of the Toad Clan. Those can't be faked."

"Then Kyuubi is lost to them." Danzo said roughly, angrily. "We should've never let him go."

"I would disagree," Shibi of the Aburame clan said cooly. "If they were able to defeat Jiraya-sama and young Naruto together, I'm not so sure we'd have fared much better."

Danzo sneered slightly, "What a defeatist attitude! If we were to experience such a jeopardy, it would've been better to destroy Uzumaki-san and his demon, than let anyone else have them."

"Enough! What was done, can't be undone." Tsunade said sharply, narrowing her eyes. "We do not know what they want with Jiraya and Naruto, but they are probably kept as hostages and for information. Our mistake was in assuming they would leave Naruto for the last, and we know they've acquired several other jinchuriiki. We must act or soon all will be lost to these criminals."

"I agree," Nara Shikaku suddenly said, still looking bored. "Jiraya –sama and Naruto are useless as hostages however, and the Akatsuki is aware of that. My guess is they want to question Jiraya-sama about our strengths and weaknesses, the same goes for other villages-his spy network is quite extensive. If only we had better insight into their goals."

"They want peace." Tsunade replied. "That's what we've been told. Whoever leads these criminals wants the power of tailed beasts to gain the leverage to enforce his ideas. It seems crazy, but there is a certain logic to his behaviour. After all, anyone who has all tailed beasts can do almost anything."

"Lies, it's all about power. They want to rule us." Danzo added. "Besides, Kyuubi was ours and we can't let their theft unpunished. Criminals can't and never will dictate our lives."

"Fine, we can all agree about it, but the problem is how do we stop them?" Inoichi Yamanaka said despondently.

"The Akatsuki is a multinational threat, that's obvious." Hyuuga Hiashi voiced his opinion. "They want all jinchuriiki. So we must act quickly and warn the other nations and we should form a temporary alliance until this matter is resolved."

"It's logical, I concur." Shibi said. "We can't find them alone, not fast."

"It is agreed then?" Tsunade asked everybody at the table. Nods were given. "Good. I approve of this action and emissaries will be dispatched to all hidden villages. The Raikage has already sent his messengers to inform us that his brother, the jinchuriiki of Hachibi is missing. We can assume he is now also the guest of the Akatsuki. The same can be assumed for Shichibi, their village was recently attacked by Kakuzu who once was their best nin. Their jinchuriiki wasn't seen since."

Danzo frowned. He wasn't informed of this. "They are moving quickly, too quickly. The strongest bijuu are already theirs. I suspect they have more of them, or are in the process of acquiring them as we speak."

"I know, that's why we must ally with other villages to stop them from gaining the last biju. Shukaku will soon reform somewhere. If we can get it first and seal it away, then hide it-we may have the chance to win." Tsunade explained.

"You have already thought this out, Hokage-sama?" Akimichi Choji asked.

"I have. The alliance is our last and best option. The Akatsuki are strong enough to challenge any individual or single village, but five great villages are something else. Even they will have to think twice before challenging us. Each village has enough powerful ninjas to take them all on and win."

"Then we're in concord." Koharu said, acting as the council voice. "Let's hope that the other villages agree to our proposal. A meeting between Five Kages should be arranged, in neutral territory."

"The Land of Iron." Homura spoke gravely. Everyone nodded.

"Byakugan!" Hyuuga Hiashi suddenly shouted and stared at Danzo. Danzo looked shocked but couldn't move. Nara Shikaku smiled and showed his hands, they were making a Rat handsign which indicated he was using his Shadow Imitation to hold Danzo in place. The man couldn't even twitch.

"Explain yourselves!" Tsunade thundered, shocked that the two would assail another councilor. Any violence in the Council Chamber was strictly forbidden.

"If I may move my hand, Hokage-sama, all will be revealed." Nara Shikaku said. Tsunade nodded while the ANBU were now in the room, ready to kill the man if he proved himself traitor.

Shikaku slowly forced Danzo to imitate his motion and so everybody saw what was under Danzo's bandages.

"You...bloodslicer!" Tsume roared. It was the worst offense one could give to another person in Konoha, describing a person who stole bloodlines or experimented selfishly on their carriers. So far, Only Orochimaru was called so, much to the shame of his teammates and deceased sensei. Kumo ninjas weren't held in much better esteem.

But when Shikaku exposed Danzo's right arm, it's woodiness clarly showing more Sharingans and the fact it was made of Shodai's cells, everyone was aghast. Tsunade's chakra flooded the room, filling it to the brim. Even Danzo's body twitched in the instinctive flight reflex, so potent was her killing intent. No one could move, it was like being caught in the tsunami that filled the horizon and there was nowhere to run. It reminded everybody that this woman was one of the most powerful shinobi in the history, topped only by few.

Her chakra subsided gradually as she got hold of herself. Everyone stated to breathe gain. She glared at Danzo. "You are dead, you know that, don't you?" Danzo stared stonily ahead, refusing to meet her gaze. "Answer me!" Tsunade roared, vanishing from her seat. She grasped his arm at the shoulder and pulled. It came off with a sick, wet sound making Danzo gasp in pain. He couldn't move, Tsunade paralyzed him with her medical jutsu, cutting off his control over his body below also stopped his bleeding.

'Uh, I was lucky to have cancelled my jutsu !' Shikaku thought with profound relief. He'd have been injured just like Danzo otherwise.

"ANBU, keep him upright, he still has some answers for me." Tsunade ordered as she retook her seat. It was obeyed unhesitatingly, nobody wanted to piss her of right now. Nobody at all. She stared at the limb with some interest, then sealed it away in a scroll she always had at hand.

"You will be executed after this meeting is adjourned, that is my decision," Tsunade announced with stony expression on her seemingly young face. "I care not for your reasons, some things can't be forgiven. I still want an explanation old man, and make it a good one or I will demonstrate my medical expertise on you when you are being kept alive despite the most excruciating tortures inflicted upon you by Ibiki and Anko. You will have years to change your mind, I assure you."

Everyone stared at Danzo, the man with much influence in the village and country. They knew he was a hard line warmonger, a preacher of 'might is right' motto. They knew of his ambitions and ideals, but nobody expected this. To desecrate the blood of the Shodaime, of a man he too admired and knew once, that was simply too hard to believe.

Danzo wasn't quiet because he felt like it. He was thinking furiously how to salvage the situation. He was dead, but he couldn't tell the truth, not all of it or everything he worked for would fall apart. The only thing he cared about at the moment was to keep Konoha in one piece. A shame, he so wanted to be the one to lead it to prosperity.

Oh, well it was time to take one for the team, so to speak. He hoped that Hiruzen was enjoying his stay in Shinigami's stomach, for he was going to Hell. At least he outlived him, even if not by much.

"Well?" Tsunade prompted, feeling impatient.

"I did it for Konoha." Danzo started, ignoring Tsume's snort of disdain. "I have been aware of the possibility that something like this might happen, the situation with the Akatsuki and jinchuriiki. I needed an ace in my sleeve, to ensure that the control over Kyuubi doesn't slip out of our grasp."

"And why didn't you warn us before?" Hiashi asked. He was unable to see any signs of a lie.

"Sarutobi was aware, as were Koharu and Homura. It all started with Kyuubi's attack on Konoha sixteen years ago. It was a premeditated attack, not an accident as many believed."

That caused ruckus among councillors, but Tsunade's sharp glare quieted them. "Care to elaborate on that?"

Danzo smiled ironically. This was the part where truth and lies mixed so well, no one would notice. "The Fourth Hokage has left a message for Sarutobi, saying that someone was controlling the beast to attack the village. They fought and he won, but the assailant escaped, badly injured. He was exceptional shinobi, able to match the Forth even after he used his fabled Hiraishin, if only for a while."

"Impossible, nobody could last long against Minato." Tsunade said. Danzo agreed, not even that man could. The message didn't exist of course, but over the years he and Hiruzen worked separately to ferret out the real truth of that event and all things pointed to one conclusion.

"I agree," Danzo said, "but who could say what powers Uchiha Madara has."

"Now, you're grasping for the last straw." Shikaku snorted. "Madara is dead. Even if he were alive, he'd be so old that even my son would be able to defeat him."

"Uchiha Madara was the only shinobi who could control Kyuubi as if it were his pet." Koharu stated. "You youngsters never knew him, not like we did. He was a monster in his own right, with those terrible eyes of his."

"How can he be still alive? He would be almost a hundred!" Tsume protested. "Uchiha or no, he is still a man."

"I don't know." Danzo admitted. "But I know he is the person who started the Akatsuki a long time ago, back during the last war I believe. He has found some followers even then, he then moved in the Water Country to take control of their Fourth Mizukage, who in turn started those horrible bloodline wars."

"Why? What he could hope to achieve with them?" Tsunade asked, feeling some reservation for these statements. Danzo couldn't be trusted.

"I have no idea, no one does. His goal is in one part clear-revenge against Konoha. He has never forgiven this village and his clan for choosing Senju Hashirama as the First Hokage. I believe he was the one who gave training to Itachi and told him how to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan. Itachi became his coworker, an ally and spy-I tried to use him too, to obtain means to counter Madara's power over bijuu. So I allowed Itachi to do what he wanted and acted quickly to obtain necessary body parts and waited for the time they were needed. I was too late, obviously. Madara has several bijuu and we still don't know what is his ultimate goal."

"So, in your opinion the extermination of the whole clan was acceptable?" Shikaku asked incredulously.

"I believed that there were more of them who worked for that man, because he was able to enter their district and no one was aware. No, he must've had some other Uchiha too on his side. Since Itachi was going to kill them all, I was fine with it. Less worries that way." Danzo shrugged after saying that.

"And you let Uchiha Sasuke live," Shibi spoke, his tone neutral. "Wasn't he also a risk?"

"Itachi left Sasuke alive to serve another purpose, the boy wasn't even aware that his death was just postponed. Itachi was planning to goad his brother in obtaining the same eyes, so that he could steal them and gain even more powerful Mangekyou which in turn would make him even more dangerous than Madara was. I intervened and recruited him, to stop him from playing Itachi's game. I gave him training to kill Itachi eventually. In the worst case, I intended to destroy his eyes to deny Itachi the ultimate power of the Uchiha. That would hurt Itachi the most and make him vulnerable. Madara also would've lost much."

"You're referring to the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, I've heard of it from my parents." Tsunade said with serious tone. "It made Madara what he was, my grandfather's equal."

"Indeed. I believe Madara lost some of his power, that's why he recruited Itachi. Itachi agreed, probably planning to gain the ultimate dojutsu and depose Madara. He was always ambitious. Cold as ice, that one was." Danzo answered, playing his role for what was worth. Itachi was going to end up as the most demonized person in the world of ninja. This was actually fun!

"How did you graft my grandfather's cells to your body? It was Orochimaru, wasn't it?" The blond woman asked.

Danzo made a disgusted expresssion, "Yes, I was forced to work with that vile man. How Hiruzen could've trained something so twisted, I'll never understand. But he was useful. Of course, I was planning to get rid of him later on. Orochimaru was too dangerous to be left alone. In fact, I knew of his lust for Sharingan and I gave him access to young Sasuke. I was counting on Itachi to destroy Orochimaru before he managed to lay hands on his brother."

Everybody glared at Danzo who smiled coldly.

"Do you have any more data on the Akatsuki, or Itachi or Madara?" Tsunade asked her last question.

"There isn't anything else, but this-whoever leads the Akatsuki for Madara is a very formidable ninja. He has killed Salamander Hanzo, by himself. I belive he is stronger than any Akatsuki member, except Madara."

That shook everyone, Hanzo was one of the strongest ninja ever. Without special bloodline, but genius in fight and with massive chakra pool he was match for anyone. He adhered to his own code of honor, often sparing lives of strong opponents he defeated-he was that strong, he could afford being merciful. He once defeated Tsunade, Jiraya and Orochimaru and spared their lives-in exchange they had to bear the title he gave them, Densetsu no Sannin, Three Legendary Ninja. He did that out of admiration for their perfect teamwork, the best he ever saw.

Tsunade's hand moved slightly and the ANBU obeyed. Danzo died, courtesy of the kunai in the back of his skull. "This meeting is finished."

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of Tsunade, rigid and felt almost happy. He knew instantly when Danzo died, feeling the seal on his tongue die in a smal flare of chakra. His freedom was welcomed, and the revenge he attained celebrated, silently, with a lone tear for what was lost.

He saw the stunned rection of Kakashi, and felt relieved a bit. He could never bring himself to fully trust the man who had obtained Sharingan when his Uchiha teammate died. Sasuke found scrolls referring to the 'theft' a long time ago, so he was wary. He now saw that Kakashi was truly saddened with his clan's demise.

Sakura too looked horrified at the vile truth that swam to the surface and gave him a look of deep commiseration. She didn't change in the last few years, not really. Oh, she grew taller and stronger (he too feared her chakra enhanced strength), but she was still head over heels in love with him. Pointless, really. He'd never pick her, she was too loud and too pink for his tastes.

"Are you listening, Uchiha Sasuke?" Tsunade's voice drew his attention, and he nodded. "Good, you will tell Kakashi all you know of the ROOT and help him organize the cleanup operation. I can't allow divided loyalties, not now. You will also submit yourself to a full mind scan, to ensure that you are really yourself. I don't want Orochimaru popping out one day, in your body with your eyes."

"Understood. I have nothing to hide."

Tsunade nodded. "For what's worth, I am sorry for what happened to your clan. I know what is it like to be the last survivor. Danzo has committed unspeakable crimes i, no matter his excuses. We do not kill our own, ever."

Sasuke nodded. "When will I be able to hunt down Itachi? I believe he has grown weaker in the past few years, while I have grown stronger. With Orochimaru's power added to mine, there will be no better opportunity to remove the traitor."

"That will happen sooner than you expect. But it would be better for you to test your abilities, to avoid mishaps in the future. You can go now." Tsunade dismissed Sasuke who obeyed, followed by Sakura.

Tsunade looked at Kakashi. "What do you think of all this?"

The silver haired ninja looked thoughtful, "We were used. We are still being used by that strange man who gave Sasuke all that information. He used us to kill Danzo, he obviously doesn't fear us."

"He is probably that Uchiha Madara, if Danzo is to be believed. In this instance, I agree. The ability he displayed before Sasuke, that time-space technique, it's very dangerous." Tsunade thought out loud. She looked at Kakashi with interest. "Can your newest technique counter his?"

"They do appear to be similar in nature, so maybe. We won't know until I face him." Kakashi replied honestly. He grinned suddenly, "At least Naruto and Jiraya are alive."

Tsunade sighed, "That's the only good thing I've heard today. Go, keep an eye on Sasuke. He might do something stupid."

Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Naruto felt a tremor in the Force, a wavefront of the change coming and he smiled. He knew his ploy to get rid of Danzo would work. Konoha was now busy cleaning up ROOT, thus tying it's valuable resources elsewhere.

He wonderd what lies Danzo spewed to save his precious Konoha. Probably those which made him look like a well meaning, if crazy asshole. Good riddance.

He let slip things about the Akatsuki and their prisoners, to accelerate the formation of some multi-village task force to battle them. Just to buy time to do his things and to thin down the numbers in the organization. It would be hard to kill them all by himself.

He loved Madara's spatial folding ability, it made things so much more manageable. He wondered how strong Sasuke has become, if he had grown strong enough to prove entertaining during the fight with Itachi. Sasuke with Itachi's eyes, that would be something to see. And to humiliate, naturally.

It was time to get to know Itachi a little better.

* * *

**Hello my loyal readers! Another one I finally wrote. God, it can be so frustrating trying to write a chapter with something that is actually readable. So sorry for the delay!**

**Heh, Danzo sure got shafted by Naruto! I loved writing it, hell yeah. Joke is on Sasuke, though, he still so clueless. I can't wait to write about his showdown with Itachi, I'm already bouncing some evil ideas in my brain. Something about Itachi actually winning, hmm? Worth trying, no?  
**

**I'm a bit annoyed with manga again, it's getting ridiculous with those resurrected guys de-resurrecting themselves, so to speak. Kabuto sure needs to work on his chakra control, ha,ha,ha...**

**Have fun, watch good anime and stay tuned!  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

They were walking alone, unnoticed, just as they planned. Two cloaks fluttered slightly as the light morning breeze caressed them gently, like a lover from the fairy tale. Not that their owners ever perceived such a thing, their hearts were as cold as ice and their minds as sharp as diamond edged blades.

Yes, Uchiha Itachi and Uzumaki Naruto were as cold as they came. At least they seemed so. But both had passionate yearning to achieve their goals; one to conquer all in his way, the other to conquer the fate that befell him.

It had been a few days since the two were paired up to hunt down the Three Tailed Beast somewhere between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. It was clear that both countries would be on alert against the Akatsuki, due to the great success that this group had with the obtaining of the jinchuriiki.

Naruto suddenly paused, spreading his consciousness in currents of the Force. He smiled suddenly. "They are here, just as I said. We will have to act against them, won't we Itachi-sempai?"

Itachi refused to react to Naruto's use of the honorific, knowing it was just a meaningless attempt to annoy him. The blond had proved to be brash, arrogant and absolutely fearless- not even Hoshigaki Kisame dared to tease him.

"How many?" The Uchiha asked coldly, already making his own assessments.

"A lot," Naruto snorted. "I can sense one Kage level signature, though it is especially potent. A woman if I'm not mistaken."

Itachi silently filed away this little tidbit about Naruto-he could differentiate ninja by their chakra very precisely. Quite impressive. "Then Mizukage herself is here, Terumi Mei-san. She is rumoured to have two bloodlimits."

Naruto whistled in surprise. "That's rare."

"Indeed," Itachi agreed.

"No wonder Madara instigated bloodline exterminations in the Water Country, some of those were quite powerful- even against your Clan's abilities." Naruto said, ignoring Itachi's surprised widening of eyes. It wasn't really relevant in this matter. "Well then, we will have to hit fast and hard. You will take care of Sanbi, with your dojutsu. You can still exert yourself to that level, can't you?"

"Of course." Itachi said, hiding his sudden anxiety. That last question clearly indicated that Uzumaki Naruto was aware of his illness. How much more the boy knew?

"Good, Kage Bunshin!" Naruto said and created a single clone who took a small scroll from Naruto and went his own way, towards the tall hill in the distance.

"What is that clone supposed to do?" Itachi asked curiously.

"You will see soon enough, so don't concern yourself with that. Your task is to guide Sanbi away and to crush any who oppose us. I will stall the Mist contingent."

"Are you really going to confront the Mizukage and her ninja alone?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" Naruto bit out, feeling offended. He did take out Hachibi's host single-handed.

"As you wish," Itachi answered. It was Uzumaki's funeral anyway.

* * *

When the mist rolled in suddenly, the ninja contingent from Kirigakure knew that they were under attack.

"Ao! What do you see?" Terumi Mei demanded from her chief sensor and scout, the only Mist nin with the Byakugan implanted. The redhaired woman was ready to battle, for this was sensitive operation-to seal Sanbi again in a Mist chosen container, the future weapon of Kiri.

She disliked the practice, especially since she had seen firsthand how unstable and powerful jinchuriiki could be.

But there was no other choice, those criminals were collecting the biju like toys! This way, time could be bought to organize proper defense.

"I can't see much Mizukage-sama," Ao groused after employing his implanted eye. "The mist isn't ordinary, someone knew we could pierce the regular one. This version is saturated with chakra, to obstruct our sensors and seers, namely me. But I can tell that there are two of them, very strong."

"Damn!" Mei cursed, then turned to the old shinobi behind her, with child in his arms. "Shiro-san, be prepared to seal Sanbi in the child at any moment, we are about to meet some unpleasant visitors." Then she gave a coded chakra message, telling her men to scatter around and make as many Mist clones as possible to confound the enemy.

They all waited. But nothing was going on.

The child's cry startled Mei and Kiri ninja, it was in the wrong spot! Mei turned around and swiftly found Shiro-san. The man was dead, his left eye pierced with senbon-it went straight to his brain.

"Shiro is gone!" She warned her men, "Ao, find the child, now!"

"Huh, I don't think he'll do as you say." Somene spoke from the distance, his or her's voice floating around, echoing. The speaker was adept at hiding himself.

"Why not?" Mei challenged the unknown person, hoping that the child would cry again. Then she'd get the bastard.

"I killed him first, see , I couldn't let him spy on me and my buddy." The voice informed everyone with that calm, logical tone of a man explaining to his neighbour why he killed a rat under his house. "Pity, he looked kind of cool with the eyepatch. Like that Copy Ninja of Konoha, I guess."

Mei was startled by the admission. Ao was top notch sensor, his skill unmatched in Kiri hunter corps. Yet this guy sneaked up on him and killed him without sound! "Why are you attacking us? We are Mist shinobi on official mission! Don't you realize that you've just signed your death sentence?"

The chuckle she got in response both infuriated her and gave her chills down her back. "I think I'm quite safe, pretty lady with nice hair...you see, you haven't seen me so you don't know who am I. So, you can't catch me."

Mei kept silent, trying to find a way to solve this situation. But no matter what, she didn't see how could she do it. None of her men could track like Ao, especially not her. But she wasn't Mizukage for nothing.

All that chakra in the air, all that vaporous water around smiled and formed a mass of handseals. "Great Exploding Water Wave!"

The resulting explosion of water consumed the whole mist and covered a wide area with a huge water filled dome. The Mist contingent was floating within, using their breathing equipment to survive.

Mei found their target quickly, growling internally. That bastard was standing on the dome's surface, laughing probably at the waste of chakra. She saw him vanish in a blur, probably using the Shunshin technique to move somewhere else. She scowled and released the technique, it was useless against someone like that.

"Find him!" She ordered and her men obeyed, she too moved to do the same, followed by four guards.

* * *

Naruto's Shadow Clone was in position, lying on top of the hill that was two or three kilometers away from the place where his original was battling the Mizukage and her forces.

He held a strange object in his arms-it looked like a strange version of a bow, except it had no string or that front curved part which held the string. There was a wooden base carved for easy handling, with long metal tube protruding from it. And from sides, two flat magazines emerged, holding within several arrow like projectiles, made of metal. They were thicker and shorter than regular arrows, hollowed - inside each was a seal tag, designed for a specific function.

The clone carefully aimed in the direction where his creator went and waited. After a while , he squeezed the trigger , releasing the first projectile.

There was a sonic boom in distance a moment later, but the clone paid it no mind. He fired again and again, causing more sonic booms to be heard, until his magazine was spent.

* * *

Naruto activated the seals he secretly planted on the Mist shinobi during their initial encounter. It was easy to do it with the Force, telekinesis was silent and absolutely precise.

The first to fall was Terumi Mei, she died while spitting a large globe of lava at Naruto who easily evaded the attack that simmered down almost instantly.

Her followers could only gape at her torn corpse for a moment, before they were struck down in quick succession as well. Each of them had huge gaping holes in their bodies, due to the extreme kinetic energy each projectile had at the moment of impact-they were heavier than arrows and moved at supersonic speed, and mass plus speed produced extreme power.

Naruto grinned under his black mask, enjoying the success of his latest weapon. His very own chakra powered rail gun. He loved seals, you could do so much with them!

Naruto was aware of such a technology for some time, thanks to his former Sith Master. He instantly saw great potential in that technology, which his Master considered primitive even if it was extremely advanced for his world.

A few years of research, some of Jiraiya's old notes and he was done-all it took was to perfect the design.

Seals were designed to create tightly focused EM fields which wold then propel the arrows through the metal pipe which also served as focusing coil and for ejection in the desired direction.

A few weeks of work were wasted on trying to improve on the design, but limits were pretty much reached. A lot of energy was lost in the creation of said EM fields, and after a while the energy would dissipate to nothingness. But while it was usable, the weapon was absolutely deadly.

No one could dodge the arrow moving faster than the sound, because it was already inside the target by the time anyone suspected what was going on. And the impact itself dealt so much damage that no one could survive.

Another part of the weapon were homing seals-the ones placed on targets served as homing beacons for the arrows which were equipped with their own seals designed to detect each tag in sequence. That set up was necessary, since no one could aim properly at that distance at ninja who were moving constantly around at high speed.

* * *

"You ...bastard!" One of the survivors screamed and launched a series of water missiles at Naruto, who zig-zagged between each one and impaled the idiot on his obsidian sword. The blade trailed darkness as it was swung, creating an intimidating sight.

Naruto shunshinned in between a trio of Mist ANBU, flinging his hands wide, blasting them with potent Force blast that liquefied their soft innards into mush.

The remaining ten ninja realized they were facing an opponent of frightening skill; they immediately formed five two man teams, aiming to overwhelm Naruto with series of coordinated ninjutsu and genjutsu assaults.

The first duo worked in tandem quite well-one of them begun launching series of water based attacks, while the other added his lightning element to strengthen them.

The second team was watching Naruto as he was moving around and dodging, trying to hit him with genjutsu. They were having odd difficulties, the target simply wasn't responding.

The third pair of ninja was watching his moves, analyzing his style carefully. The fourth and fifth team was waiting on the third's final analysis.

One of the members of the fourth squad lost his patience and spoke to the two on the third team. "Well? What's your angle on this eel?"

"I'm not sure," One of the two said. "He is somehow resisting genjutsu attacks by those two and he's very fast, almost like he can see where the next attack will come from."

"Is he an Uchiha too, then?"

"How am I supposed to know?" The other snapped at the shinobi who was asking those questions.

"We should all attack from up close, while those four keep him distracted." The other memeber of the analysis team suggested. "He can't possibly defend from us all. Even if he somehow produces another of his wind blasts, we now know of them. We can deal with this guy, but only together."

* * *

Naruto sensed clearly in the Force as the other six ninja decided to attack. That was fine with him, he was getting bored already.

He avoided another water jutsu, a razor sharp stream of water and a wave designed to slow his moves. Two lightning streams danced on the water, he just used the Force to push away the water from himself as he danced around, baiting the others to join in.

It was basic strategy, too many attacks will inevitably work against each other, thus limiting their effectiveness.

Then it came, an attack from four sources, creating a miniature tsunami threatening to drown him and break his body. Naruto saw three blurs jump impossibly high, sending a veritable rain of steel his way.

And three more signatures were spreading around to catch him if he managed to escape.

Naruto laughed as the Force responded to his need, his battle lust arose sharp and hungry like a demon who once was in his belly.

He channeled it and gathered the power tightly in his frame, keeping it from spinning out of his grasp. His eyes burned momentarily with sulfurous yellow glow, before subsiding into cold blueness again.

The world slowed down for the young Sith Lord. The three blurs above him became slow moving Mist ninja, still glacially floating in the air. He grabbed them with the Force and jumped over the incoming attack while pulling down those three to take a hit instead of him.

He grinned viciously as those three were buried under tons of raging water. As if he could be defeated so easily! A mass Shadow Clone jutsu created over fifity copes of him and the remaining attackers, seven of them, had to divide their attention severely as the were attacked by solid clones.

Naruto joined a group attacking his clones furthest away from the others, and waited for his chance. He saw it soon. One of the Mist ninja dispelled two of his clones with well placed sword swipes, while his comrade protected his back briefly.

Naruto focused on the swinging ninja and cast a Force confusion on him, making him believe he was attacking a clone instead of his comrade who was defending him. To his horror, the supposed clone became his comrade. He was killed by other clones with wind chakra blades instantly.

Five more remained, Naruto mused and turned around. He saw another two shinobi fighting as a pair, watching each other's back. They killed his clones. He led his own group to intercept them. Three of his copies engaged them briefly, giving him time to prepare his attack.

As the Mist nin swung to finish off his clone, the last of his group, Naruto seized his sword telekinetically and pushed it straight in the belly of his partner. He wasted no moment and swung his sword vertically, using now wind chakra to cleave the shocked swordsman in two halves.

Naruto didn't wait to enjoy his victory, he received memories of his other clones who were already done for, but not before killing one of the remaining Mist ninja. Two more left.

"Toshiro, you go back to our village and tell them what happened! I'll hold this one for a while, so you can escape." One of the remaining pair ordered tohis friend.

"No! We can.." Toshiro tried to object, but was cut off by his comrade.

"Don't be a fool, he is too strong for us! Just do your duty, that's all I ask."

Naruto watched the one called Toshiro run, then he switched his gaze at his comrade with ANBU shark mask. "I could kill him, you know."

The ANBU growled. "You criminals, you have no honor as ninja!"

"I'm not a criminal, you know. Just a guy doing his job for his village. Alas, I'm deeply undercover and must look like a real misssing ninja. It's too bad, I really liked your Mizukage. She was hot."

Naruto's admission sent the ANBU in temporary mute shock. Not for long, though. "What? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Nope, sorry. But the fate of all ninja nations is at stake here. I must do certain things, no matter how much I wish otherwise."

"I see. So, you will kill me and let my comrade go just because?"

"No, your comrade must live to tell about this event. It will only strengthen the need for villages to unite against the Akatsuki, to oppose them more effectively while drawing the Leader's attention to them. And I will be unsupervised then, free to act from within."

"I don't believe you, and I must avenge my comrades and my Kage!" The mist shinobi readied his katana to act, but it was too late already. The real Naruto was not in front of him, but below the ground. A simple Earth style tunneling tech and a grab for ankles left the Mist nin buried in the ground and dead by kunai planted in his skull.

"Sorry my friend, but I don't need you to believe me. I know I'm right." Naruto said before leaving. He wondered if Itachi's Shadow Clone saw the whole thing. It was staged for his benefit after all. That was why he held back on the use of some obvious Force skill.

* * *

Pain was waiting for them near the base in the Rain Country. "Well done, both of you. I'll take it over from here Itachi-san."

Naruto and Itachi nodded slightly, jumping from Sanbi's armored form. Sanbi was a gigantic three tailed turtle, although it had some crab like features. The most peculiar thing about it was it's right eye-it was gouged away, indicating some old and terrible injury.

Itachi subdued it with his powerful dojutsu and then both of them used it as riding steed. It was the most convenient way of transportation.

They watched as Pain produced one of his black rods and stabbed it close to Sanbi's head, in the neck. The creature roared, it's chakra spiking as it was suddenly freed from Itachi's control, but then it's eyes suddenly became same as Pain's, grey with circles in them. It was docile immediately, obviously under Pain's control.

Naruto found it very interesting, the change occurred immediately after Pain introduced his chakra in Sanbi's system. Obviously, Rinnegan was chakra based power, a change initiated by powerful chakra. Much like he experienced changes when he used either Kyuubi's chakra or Senjutsu. Even the Dark Side could do that to him.

Being the bearer of Rinnegan, it was like being the Sage. It also explained Nagato's amazing power level, he was really powerful, much more than Jiraya in the Sage form, because he too was already a Sage with far greater range of abilities.

It also explained why only some Uchiha obtained the Sharingan- there was a difference in the quality of their chakra. It spoke a great deal about the whole clan. There were quite a few Sharingan users among them.

"You may enter the base, I will keep the creature docile until it's time to seal it in the Gedo Mazo." Pain told them and started to lead the beast, lie it was some kind of pet.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Naruto said to Itachi who observed Pain as he was leaving them alone.

"Yes, it is." Itachi said, looking now at Naruto intently.

"What is it?"

"I saw you talking to that Mist ninja." Itachi remarked cooly, maintaining his facade of indifference.

"Did you now? So, what will you do? Snitch me out to Pain? You haven't got a proof." Naruto challenged, secretly pleased with this development.

"I might," Itachi replied. He was observing Naruto carefully, looking for any weakness.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked, feigning anger. It wasn't really that hard, not these days.

"Your assistance."

"With what?"

"To eliminate Uchiha Madara. Or Tobi, as likes to go as now."

"That might be a problem, you see he's already dead." Naruto said.

"That's what he wants everybody to believe. He hadn't died when he fought Shodaime all those years ago." Itachi insisted, misunderstanding Naruto's last sentence.

"You misunderstood my words, I killed Madara." Naruto explained to Itachi whose eyes momentarily widened in profound shock. "Haven't you found it weird that he didn't speak to you in a while?"

Itachi recovered quickly, "It wasn't uncommon for him to vanish for some periods. How did you do that?"

"I drained his chakra with a secret move, that's all. Now, what will you do?"

Itachi wasn't answering, he was thinking furiously. With Madara gone, Sasuke was safe. All he had to do was to die, to bear the guilt for the Uchiha massacre alone. And Madara too. Only now, Madara won't be able to corrupt his little brother.

"I know what you did," Naruto struck suddenly. "I know why did the Uchiha have to die. I also know about your plan for Sasuke."

"How?"

"Madara bragged to me about the things he did. He told me how he made Kyuubi attack Konoha, forcing my parents to sacrifice themselves to save the village. He was going to kill me, so he wanted to make me suffer before I died. He hated my clan as much as the Senju."

"I see. What do you plan to do with that information?"

"Nothing. But I want to destroy everything that man worked for, namely the Akatsuki. He robbed me of my childhood, he exposed me to hate- I will annihilate his work in turn. Nobody will remember who the man was, or that he lived. He will only be a bad, faded memory. And you'll help."

"Why would I?"

"Because I can help you keep Sasuke alive through all this." Naruto stated, acting confident. "Let's face it- your brother is still a hot head, even if he gets his revenge on you, he will not sit idle. When the time comes, he will fight against the Akatsuki. He probably won't survive, not against Pain. Trust me, Pain is the strongest ninja now that Madara is history."

"I...there is some truth to what you say." Itachi was forced to admit.

"I know Sasuke rather well too. He is very powerful, but lacks that mental acuity you have."

"So, what do you suggest?" Itachi asked, feeling very odd for asking Sasuke's teammate how to treat him.

"Take his eyes," Naruto stated harshly, and hurried to explain when Itachi became angry with the suggestion. "Look, hear me out! As it is, Sasuke is powerful, but still lacks your experience and finesse. He is going to get himself killed. But if you take his eyes, he will effectively be out of the game for a time. But not dead. Even the Elders will leave him alone, considering him as non threat. Then you supposedly die fighting for the Akatsuki and Sasuke gets his eyes back, courtesy of one Uzumaki Naruto who fooled the whole group into thinking he betrayed Konoha."

"By then, everything will be over and Sasuke will be healed and free to rebuild our clan to it's former glory, but with extreme hatred for the act of gaining the Mangekyou." Itachi finished for Naruto, liking the plan.

"Whatever, " Naruto said. "The main point is, you'll gain the power to destroy the Akatsuki. With your help, I can save Jiraiya sensei and the other jinchuriiki."

"What about the biju?" Itachi asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Naruto smiled, making Itachi blanch. It seemed almost evil.

* * *

The Akatsuki was gathered again, all ten ninja together. They were just done with sealing away Gobi and Yonbi, Rokubi was extracted and sealed by Pain himself while two groups hunted for the last three beasts available.

"Shit, this thing really is annoying, yeah!" Deidara grumbled, after sealing was done.

"You always hate standing around, doing nothing, even if it's for your own benefit." Sasori commented, admnishment clear in his deep tone.

"So? I like my art better, is that a crime?" Deidara retorted angrily.

"It is actually, " Itachi said when he entered the cavern with Naruto in tow. "Bombing civilians is a serious crime."

"Hey, Itachi!" Kisame greeted the taciturn Uchiha. He looked oddly relieved. "How did you guys do on your hunt?"

"We did well, Kisame. Naruto-san has been very helpful. I merely had to scatter some Konoha ANBU and take control of Sanbi. Naruto-san meanwhile took care of the Mizukage and her shinobi."

"You killed the Mizukage?" Kakuzu asked Naruto, feeling impressed slightly. The kid was fifteen and already racking S ranked kills like they were nothing.

"Yeah, too bad- she was really hot." Naruto replied.

"Did you make her suffer?" Hidan asked, licking his pale lips and his eyes were gleaming madly. "Jashin-sama prefers when I kill my sacrifices for him in the most painful way."

"No, I just made a big hole in her chest. With her gone, the rest of the Mist ninja were easy to kill. I even killed that guy with the Byakugan, he was a good sensor ninja."

"You killed Ao-san?" Kisame looked surprised. He also became quite wary of the young blonde, not just anyone could slay so many Kiri ninja alone. "No loss there, he was always complaining about things."

"Enough with the meaningless talk, " Konan said as she suddenly appeared in the cavern with the Gedo Mazo. "I have some news for you. Our sources have told us that Shimura Danzo of Konoha has been executed for treason by the decision of the Godaime Hokage."

"Interesting," Itachi said. "One of his old sins must've caught up with him."

Konan looked at Itachi. "Actually, it's been said he and you were partnered in killing your clan."

"I will not comment on that. The organization cares not about my past deeds, only about what I do now. Isn't that right, Konan-san?"

Everyone stared at Itachi as the man walked away.

"I hate that guy." Deidara muttered and retreated as well. He had a new hand, probably a transplant in Naruto's opinion. It didn't matter anyway.

"So, who believes Itachi-san had help from Danzo?" Naruto asked the remaining ninja, but no one was in the mood for talking. "What a bunch of boring guys..."

* * *

"You can feel them, can't you?" The voice came, rousing Naruto from the trance he was in. Naruto turned around frowning, realizing with a start that Pain was behind him and he didn't sense his approach.

Also, he didn't notice he fell in the trance either.

He focused on Pain, on the body he was using to interact with people. It was Yahiko's body, his favorite avatar. "You can feel them too?"

"Yes, they are restless now. I could detect some intelligence in Sanbi, and Rokubi before that, but now they are just a mass of seething energy, wild destruction contained in the statue you see." Pain explained his experience.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I felt that too. Must be because they are no longer sealed in humans."

"Perhaps," Pain said in the end. He was watching Naruto. "I also noticed that your chakra seemed close to the chakra inside Gedo Mazo right now."

"Really? I haven't noticed a thing." Naruto said, being honest with pain for a change.

"It seemed so, maybe you should keep away from it for a while. You were a jinchuriiki too. Perhaps it allows you some connection to Kyuubi, even without your knowledge."

"I suppose," Naruto nodded. "I'll do as you say." He was also doing it because this latest lack of attention disturbed him greatly. He never lost himself before.

"How do you feel about Danzo's death?" Naruto suddenly changed the subject. "I know you hated him."

Pain looked at Naruto silent, then he looked away and started to leave the cavern. "I only wish I was the one to do it."

"Wishes are one thing, reality is another." Naruto muttered and followed Pain. He didn't look back, determining to stay away from the statue for a while. He could feel ... something elusive, like an old scent he could barely catch. It was always there lately, like someone invisible following his every move. But he couldn't sense anyone, not even Master Avariss who was destroyed by him.


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

Naruto walked in Pain's quarters, where Konan and Pain were resting after the latest Biju was sealed away in the Gedo Mazo. It took two days to extract the Nibi no Nekomata from Yugito Nii.

The kunoichi from Kumo died in the process, but Pain kept his promise and revived her as soon as they were done.

"What is it now, Naruto?" Konan asked, while Pain wasn't even there. Yahiko's body was immobile, resting on the raised metal bed. Naruto could sense it was covered with seals, probably meant to maintain the corpse so it wouldn't rot away while Nagato was busy elsewhere.

"Soon it will be the time to heal Uchiha Itachi, to restore him to full health. He has agreed to fight his brother and take his eyes."

"Why? He's a spy, is he not?" Konan asked, feeling a little wary of the young man in front of her. He reminded her too much of Madara sometimes.

"Yes, he is. But I managed to convince him that his brother would surely fight against us and get himself killed in the process. If he took his eyes, Sasuke would remain effectively useless and would have to stay away from battles to come."

"Interesting, but Itachi-san is stronger than his brother even now." Konan stated with convinction.

"Oh, I have to express my doubts as to that. Itachi is better than Sasuke, but he is very sick. He's taking strong drugs to hide his condition, but it's true. I can sense it in his chakra."

"I see. That doesn't change the fact he can win and die, doing us a favor anyway."

Naruto shrugged. "I'd agree normally, but there is one little problem we can't leave unattended."

"What problem?" Konan asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Orochimaru. He is still inside Sasuke, waiting for his chance to emerge and take over. I suspect none of us would particularily like that man to gain the Sharingan."

"You are well informed," Konan said, obviously suspicious.

"Let's just say that I still have some sources, from Jiraya-sensei's network. They are of course unaware he's been compromised." Naruto smiled smugly. Konan could question that as much as she could, but there was no effective way to check his statement. Jiraya certainly could only confirm the possibility of that being true.

"Very well, I will ask Pain to do as you suggested. But what will we do when Itachi gains even stronger eyes? He might become more powerful than Madara even."

"No worries, I will make sure he dies as soon as he tries something. I am the seal master too. Itachi will need someone to help him with the transplantation, most likely you. You will plant a few seals on him in secret, while he's under narcosis. They will be absolutely inactive, until the time is right." Naruto spoke immediately, showing he had thought things through.

"That is acceptable, now leave. I wish to rest a little, it's been tiring during these last days."

"Of course," Naruto nodded and walked out. He was quite satisfied with how things went so far. Only a little while, and his dream would be realized. Still, as he walked he got curious about the fellow ex-jinchuriiki who were imprisoned in a single chakra suppressing cell. Also, each ex-jinchuriiki was tagged with killing seals designed to go off as soon as they tried to leave the cell.

* * *

" Welcome to the Iron Country, Hokage-dono." Said the man with a long face, short beard and serious eyes, whose head was covered with bandages. He had two samurai guards. That was to be expected, because he was Mifune- the leader of the samurai and the leader of the Iron Country.

The Iron Country was a remote place covered in snows most of the time, and boasted the status of neutrality for many years now. Which is why it was chosen as the meeting ground for the Five Kage summit.

"I thank you for your hospitality, Mifune-dono," Tsunade gave a respectful nod, as was proper. She gestured at her companions. "These are my trusted ninja, Hatake Kakashi and Maito Gai."

"Ah, the legendary Copy Ninja and Konoha's Green Beast. You have worthy companions." Mifune said with respectful nods towards two men flanking the busty Hokage. "Please, come inside, the other Kage are already here."

They followed the aged leader inside and all three felt relief to be again in a warm place. They may be trained to suffer cold stoically, but it was unpleasant. The group slowly meandered through cavernous insides of the fortress, always aware of samurai guards and the fact they were just three against many.

The meeting room was very simple, just a circular chamber with banners for each country and village hanging on the walls, while the Kage and their guards (each Kage was allowed only two of them) were seated at the long U shaped table with Mifune's place in between the tips as a mediator.

"Finally, the meeting can begin!" Raikage grumbled thunderously, his bad mood palpable by the fact he was constantly leaking a small dose of killing intent. His name was A, and he was viewed as the fastest ninja alive. And he was pissed, because his brother Killer Bee was the host to the Hachibi and kidnapped by the Akatsuki.

"Indeed, this meeting shall start as of now. I am Mifune and I will be the mediator for this council. The problem we face is this-the criminal group known as the Akatsuki has kidnapped the jinchuriiki of each hidden village and for yet unknown purposes. You are here to decide how to deal with that threat."

"What is the latest information about that group of bastards?" A demanded, not subtly – he was looking at Tsunade with suspicious eyes.

Tsunade steeled herself, for what she was about to say would dash everyone's hopes for victory. "The last contact we had with them was when one of their number tried to murder Uchiha Sasuke. He failed, but let something slip-the Akatsuki has captured Uzumaki Naruto and Jiraiya."

"What?" A bellowed, slamming his fists on the wooden surface of the conference table. "How come we hear this just now?"

"I was busy cleaning up some traitors in my forces, so forgive me for being incomunicado. " Tsunade replied with slight sneer, casually folding her palms under her chin. "Internal security was paramount at the time. But I'm sure each village has found a way to discover this anyway. I simply refused to come to this meeting with compromised defenses. I know that you would do the same, all of you."

"Heh, what a mess!" Sandaime Tsuchikage piped up with dry laugh. He was a dwarf of a man, small and rotund and very old. The oldest and maybe the craftiest ninja in the room. He wasn't called Onoki the Fence Sitter for being honest or loyal. "All of us have been stricken by this renegade organization, our jinchuriiki stolen and killed for their beasts, our villages filled with spies and what not."

Tsuchikage paused as he looked at each Kage in turn. "I also see that some villages have been stricken even harder than others. I was led to believe that the Fifth Mizukage was a beautiful redhead, not a man."

The Mizukage shifted uncomfortably under the stares of his equals, showing how new to his rank he was. "That was true until a few days ago. Our Godaime has fallen in battle against the Akatsuki. We lost several elite teams of Hunter ninja as well. They took Sanbi that day. I believe that Hokage-dono has that information as well since her ANBU were silently watching our ninja attempt to seal Sanbi in a new host."

"That's true. The idea was a good strategy to buy time against the Akatsuki. Unfortunately they knew it too. Uchiha Itachi was too powerful for my men and we believe he used his dojutsu to control the biju. His partner kept the Kiri group off his back." Tsunade said calmly.

The Mizukage eyed Tsunade with open surprise, and everyone noticed it. Tsunade frowned. "You seem surprised about my words, Mizukage-dono."

"You are not mistaken, Hokage-dono. I was surprised that you would be unaware of the identity of the other Akatsuki member who murdered my predecessor and her escort."

Tsunade scowled. "Why would I know that person?"

"Because our only survivor identified him as no one else but Uzumaki Naruto."

"Impossible!" Tsunade yelled, releasing her killing intent making Mizukage's guard move to protect their leader. Kakashi had moved as well, unveiling his Sharingan, while Gai uncrossed his muscled arms and stood ready to fight.

"Stop this nonsense!" Mifune said in sharp voice, slamming his palm on the table which produced a powerful noise.

Tsunade stopped producing menacing aura and reclined in her seat. Mizukage's guards retreated behind their leader. Kakashi and Gai did the same, but Kakashi didn't cover his dojutsu again.

"Kakashi, stand down." Tsunade ordered to the grey haired ninja. Kakashi complied, albeit with a great reluctance. She eyed the other men and women in the room. "Forgive us, we have been greatly surprised by this revelation."

"So you admit that there might be some truth in Mizukage's statement ?" Mifune asked. Tsunade closed her eyes in shame. Mifune sighed. "This is worse than we thought, my esteemed guests. This organization seems to have sank it's teeth into every place and rank of your villages."

"You mean Konoha, don't you Mifune-dono?" Tsuchikage sneered from his seat. "Konoha has lost some of it's best ninja to that group. More than most villages."

A snorted derisively. "Only Kumo is clean in this! All of you have used that group and ended up used by them in turn! I trust no one at this point."

"It couldn't be helped, Raikage-dono." The Fifth Kazekage was Baki, the former jounin of Suna, now their Kazekage. He was a tall, muscular man with half of his face hidden by a sheet hanging of his turban like headgear. "Our villages were facing severe restrictions in budget and military support of our daimyo, so we had to turn to other options."

"That is irrelevant to our discussion gentlemen, we must determine a common goal and how to achieve it together. We are all in this together, I hope you understand this." Mifune spoke as a voice of reason, which was his job. It was hard, shinobi were by nature and history very distrustful types. "Let us take a short break before continuing our discussion. The tensions are high from what I see, maybe we can cool down and talk this out with reason."

"I agree, we have heard some things that are very unsettling." Tsunade voiced her opinion and the other ninja leaders quickly agreed.

* * *

"Gods damn that brat!" Tsunade seethed as she was alone with Kakashi and Gai, her fury visible to them so much that they literally sweated with fear. Her monstrous strength was the stuff of legends, even more so when she used chakra to augument it. Her chakra was restrained, but barely. She wasn't going to loose face in front of her peers.

"Hokage-sama, perhaps the Mizukage was lying or was deceived by the Akatsuki?" Gai tried to be helpful.

"No, he wasn't lying. I have had suspicions about Naruto, as did Jiraiya. Why do you think I sent him with that perverted moron?"

Kakashi answered for Gai, with a heavy sigh. "You wanted him supervised, closely. And who better than Jiraiya-sama?" Part of Kakashi felt terrible, that his own student would betray Konoha.

"Don't blame yourself Kakashi, there wasn't anything you could have done." Tsunade said, frowning heavily.

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?" Gai asked, being unusually subdued. He thought that Naruto was very unyouthful.

"I believe Naruto was never loyal in the first place, so he must've been biding his time before running away." Tsnade reasoned aloud. "He'd have run even earlier I believe, except for one thing."

"The chance to study under Jiraiya-sama was a great opportunity." Kakashi realized suddenly. "But I still don't get why would he join the very group that was trying to kill him."

"Because they offered to spare his worthless ass, that's why!" Tsunade snarled. "Those thrice damned bastards must have found a way to extract tailed bests without killing their hosts. And once freed of his or hers burden, they are still shinobi with formidable power levels and skills. And Naruto was Jiraiya's student for three years. I'm sure they were happy to have him."

"That is bad, he is very dangerous now, even without Kyuubi. I actually can't remember if he had ever resorted to that thing's power." Kakashi spoke with worried tone.

"Indeed," Gai agreed. "Hokage-sama, what will you do? The other villages aren't so trusting of us anymore. We must do something to appease them for the time being."

"I know. That's why I will publicly proclaim Naruto a S-rank criminal who is to be hunted down wherever he may be. Kami forgive me, but his parents must be rolling in their graves!" Tsunade said with weary expression.

Gai was startled. "I believed he was an orphan, named Uzumaki to honor his sacrifice." It was a common misbelief among Konoha's populace, fueled by the Third Hokage and other Elders. Everyone knew that the Uzumaki were all gone, yet their memory lived on in Konoha whose ninja wore their spiral emblem.

"What a stupid thing to believe in! Really Gai, are you so naive?" Tsunade laughed without humor. "No wonder he was so mistreated as a boy by the villagers. Now, they are going to reap what they've sown so eagerly. And the maelstorm will carry everything to it's damnation. How ironic, that his name also means maelstorm."

"Who are his parents then?" Gai asked, feeling cold dread out of a sudden.

"Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were wed on the day sensei was inaugurated as our Fourth Hokage." Kakashi replied, feeling shame and bitterness, because he had always known and didn't lift a finger to help the boy-all out of the fear that someone would take an interest in the fact that Hatake Kakashi seemed unusually fond of the demon child. He should've known better and protected his sensei's son from the hatred that eventually consumed him. What other fate could've awaited the child exposed to hate every gods damned day for the most of it's life?

"No!" Gai was horrified. He too realized what Kakashi meant. "And you knew? How could you abandon your own sensei's son to that loneliness! Kami, you of all people knew what it was like to grow up without parents."

Kakashi looked down in shame. "I thought it was best to leave him alone. I was afraid someone might wonder why I would want to spend time with him."

"Enough of that, both of you!" Tsunade spoke sharply. "What's done is done. We have to face what's coming and hope we survive."

"I'm not sure we deserve to survive," Gai muttered darkly and kept quiet afterwards.

* * *

"Mizukage-sama, why did you say that the Uzumaki was a traitor?" one of Mizukage's guards asked, his pointed teeth visible as he spoke.

"Because I'm not sure whom to trust, Hideki." Mizukage replied coldly. "We are severely weakened at the moment and therefore very vulnerable. Our witness is a bitter and ashamed man, shaken by what he went through. Maybe Uzumaki is really loyal to his village, and maybe he was just messing with his head. I am inclined to believe in the second, because we all saw the reaction of the Hokage and her companions. But if it was just a ruse, then we owe to the brat to stay uncompromised to complete the mission."

"No wonder you've been chosen to lead us, you were always able to choose the best option availabele, no matter how complicated situation was." Hideki grinned toothily.

* * *

"Kankuro, calm down." Baki admonished his student who was pacing nervously as they waited for the meeting to reconvene.

"Sorry, Baki-sensei." Kankuro replied and stopped his pacing. "I'm just freaked out by the info we heard. Who'd have thought that the guy who killed Gaara would go rogue?"

"We all were," Temari added as she frowned. "I wonder what will Konoha do?"

"Their options are limited, so I can safely guess they will proclaim him a missing nin and let him be hunted by anyone who wants. Or who is stupid enough anyway." Baki said with a shrug. "We certainly have no means to do so, so we will do nothing. Am I understood?"

"He killed Gaara!" Temari protested.

"I believe it's little too late to make your feelings for Gaara rule your behaviour, Temari." Baki countered, and Temari reddened in shame. It was true, she never really showed any kindness towards her lost brother when he was alive.

Kankuro didn't get involved, he wanted no part of that argument. He too had realized he missed gaara, but it was far too late and so he accepted what was and moved on. Only sometimes he felt regret for not being proper older brother. Only sometimes...

* * *

"Grandfather, what happens now?" Kurotsuchi asked Tsuchikage as they waited for the end of the break. She was tall brunette in late teens, close to being twenty.

"We will not make any rushed decisions Kurotsuchi-chan, that's what will happen." Onoki replied sourly, rubbing his thick moustache. "We are in a tight spot with Han and Roshi gone. Let us see what happens."

Akatsuchi looked thoughtfull, which was an alien expression on the younger man size of a small mountain. "Do we trust the words of this new Mizukage?"

"Who gives a damn rock about that weakling! If another Konoha super kid betrayed them or not, it's unimportant in the whole scheme of things. Think Akatsuchi, why are we here?"

"To talk about Akatsuki?"

"Yes, that's it. And we are also going to talk about making some kind of alliance to tangle with that group together, mark my words. It will be interesting to see who will be chosen to lead it." Tsuchikage said, looking positively gleeful. "I'm going to make sure that Konoha doesn't get chosen, even if we get the same treatment."

"That doesn't sound wise grandfather," Kurotsuchi noted with a hint of reproach.

"I never claimed I was wise, child." Onoki laughed evilly.

* * *

"Shee! Tell me, was the damned woman honest in her behaviour?" A asked his best sensor from Kumo. He was really getting angry with all the deceptions. He wanted Bee back. They were A-B team, the best there was in Kumo and he actually cared for Bee.

"Yes, Raikage-sama." Shee replied instantly. "But she didn't deny that the Uzumaki might be really a traitor. Mizukage's words were also truthful, but I sensed he was hiding something."

Darui sighed loudly. "That's to be expected Shee. Everyone here is hiding something."

"Too true!" A rumbled. "I will ask for a decisive action boys, those criminals took Bee and Yugito without impunity. We can't let that slide. Let's go back."

* * *

"I hope you have thought rationally about the current situation ladies and gentlemen, so that we may resolve this quickly. Time is running out for all of us." Mifune said as everyone sat down at the conference table. "Who wishes to speak first?"

"I do, " Tsunade said gravely.

"Does anyone object?" Mifune asked and looked around, but no one said so. He looked at Tsunade and nodded. "Please, say what you will."

Tsunade nodded back, then squared shoulders before speaking. "Konoha is a proud village and we are greatly shamed with Uzumaki Naruto's betrayal. We are left with only one honorable thing to do-henceforth we name him a missing ninja of S-rank, to be hunted down by anyone willing to risk their lives. He will be posted in the Bingo Book with his known skills and abilities included. Furthermore, we propose an alliance to deal with the Akatsuki since only together we can hope to defeat this group."

"Thank you Hokage-dono. Does anyone have anything to add?" Mifune eyed the other Kage.

"I do!" A slammed his fist on the table. "I will be frank-I don't trust aynone in this room. You are all guilty of former association with those renegades at one time. The Mist was suspect of housing that group in the beginning for example. I will accept the alliance proposal, but only if Kumogakure no Sato is made it's leader! We are the only village whose ninja aren't in the Akatsuki!"

"I don't know," Mizukage said after a slight pause. "Raikage-sama is a rather volatile man. We need cool heads to win this war."

"You mean to nominate yourself," Tsuchikage sneered. "Ambitious youngsters, the lot of you! I am the most experienced Kage here, wouldn't I be a better choice?"

"So says the man known as 'the Fence Sitter'" Baki said with small grin on his face. Onoki wasn't insulted. He laughed proudly.

"Interesting," Mifune said while looking at Tsunade with curious expression. "Doesn't Konoha have any interest in leading this endeavor?"

Tsunade had her eyes closed. "We have two members in the Akatsuki, plus they have Jiraiya-sama in custody. I'm afraid we can't nominate ourselves, our moves and tactics would be known to the Akatsuki."

"Well spoken!" Mifune said. "I must admit, this is not easy. Still, since I'm the mediator, i will decide who will lead this alliance. I choose the Fourth Raikage, for an obvious reason-he was right in saying that his village is the only one uncompromised. That and the fact that he may be volatile in temper, but one doesn't become a Kage without being good leader and warrior of exceptional skill. What do you say?"

It was Tsuchikage who responded first. "I must agree, so let's make this alliance and reclaim our properties!" He didn't need to say that he didn't want Tsunade to be the boss.

The rest fell in line after that. Mifune was smiling satisfied with the results of the meeting. "Excellent! Let us discuss our priorities then. The Akatsuki have all biju but one, the Ichibi. We obviously must stop them from getting it."

"Indeed, we must do so!" A agreed quickly. "I assume that the creature will reappear soon."

"That is certain," Baki nodded amicably. "We have been tracking it's energy signature since some time ago. We will know the place and time of ichibi's reconstitution soon."

"Good, keep it a secret until the last moment so that we may surprise the Akatsuki bastards!" A suggested. "In the meantime, we must organize our shinobi into one army that will be ready to march at the earliest time possible to crush those criminals."

"It would be also safe to assume that they will know about Ichibi too," Tsunade anounced to everyone.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" A asked, more curious than worried.

"I know Naruto, that's all. Perhaps he is still using Jiraiya's network to gain information." Tsunade said.

"That is prudent, we must assume they too know about Ichibi." Tsuchikage added with some amused gleam in his eyes. "Jiraiya's spies are most excellent, if I may add. I've caught a few in the past. Slippery little rats."

"Very well, we will act in accordance to this assuumption." A said. "Now, we must discuss details of this alliance, to use or resources most effectively."

"There is one matter we haven't resolved." Mizukage said and everyone looked at him.

"What?" A asked sharply.

"What will happen after we defeat the Akatsuki? If we manage to do so, I mean."

Tsuchikage was leaning forward, grinning viciously. "You're talking about our biju, aren't you?"

That attracted everyone's attention. Mizune saw it was a touchy subject and decided to butt in. "It is clear what must be done. The best solution is to give each biju back to it's village according to their status before abduction. That means each village gets it's own biju back."

"Nice idea, Mifune-dono." Onoki said with serious look on his face. "But to be honest, I will say this- some villages look like they don't have the ability to contain their beasts properly, not anymore."

The angry silence ensued as every leader was calculating how to obtain this ultimate power in the ninja world, a tailed beast. Some sought to get more than they had previously, some feared to loose the amount they once posesssed.

"And here it is, the true face of the leaders and nations! Isn't that worth witnessing, samurai?" Someone said, making every Kage and their guards turn towards the entrance of the chamber.

"This is a private meeting intruder," Mifune said with steely voice."Show yourself and my guards may show mercy."

"Yor words amuse me Mifune-dono, but I'll do as you asked. Behold and realize what you are facing, mortal."

Everyone was alarmed when they saw the black clak with red clouds. The wearer had chalk white skin, orange hair and black piercings on his face and wrists. He was tall, wide shouldered and quite intimidating.

"Akatsuki!" A growled. "You dare to show your faces, here?"

"I do what I want, because no one can stop me." The pale man stated, approaching the table. He eyed every leader cooly. "I am the leader of the Akatsuki, Pain."

"You're one of Hanzo's rogues, eh? How is that bastard anyway?" Tsuchikage said with deceptively friendly tone, deducing Pain's village of origin from seeing his Ame headband with scratched Ame symbol.

"He is resting in peace that I brought him personally." Pain replied calmly, making everybody stare in shock. Salamander Hanzo was one of the strongest ninja of the age, said to be nigh unbeatable.

"That's some claim, young man." Onoki finally commented, drawing on his age and experience to stay calm.

"It's the truth, but you wouldn't know that so easily, being so deceitful yourself for so long little man." Pain replied with amused smile that sent Onoki floating in the air with a scowl.

"You are rude, boy! Best you mind that tone of yours or I might be compelled to dust you."

"Feel free to do so, this isn't my real body anyway. I have taken one of the samurai as my puppet for this projection. I mean, only a fool would come here in person. I am not a fool." Pain said and chuckled at everyone's stares.

Mifune looked startled. "You murdered one of my men?"

"I never said so, I'm merely using him as a conduit." Pain answered and looked at Raikage's guard with blonde hair. "You may cease trying to scout my real position, I have hidden my chakra even from the likes of you."

"Why did you come here, Pain?" Tsunade asked, with calm voice. Inside, she was bursting with the desire to throttle the prick who held her teammate. She didn't care for Naruto anymore, not after what he did.

"Tsunade-hime, I see you're as lovely as when we met for the first time." Pain replied with mocking smile.

"You are mistaken, I have never seen you before." Tsunade spat angrily. "Where is Jiraiya?"

"Hm, Naruto will be crushed you haven't asked about him." Pain smiled still. "You shouldn't worry about Jiraiya-sensei, he's just fine."

"Jiraiya...sensei?" Kakashi asked, expressing everyone's surprise at that information.

"No! You can't be ..." Tsunade suddenly realized where and when did she see that particular hair color.

"Ah! You do remember. Good, good." Pain nodded with evident satsifaction.

"And would someone care to enlighten the rest of us?" Onoki grumbled, still angry at the weird eyed intruder.

Tsunade closed her eyes in memory. "He is one of the orphans from the time of the Second Shinobi War I and my teammates encountered in Ame. Jiraiya felt sorry for them and stayed behind to help them fend for themselves, to teach them to survive. And see what it brought him. It's true when they say that no good deed goes unpunished."

"Indeed, after all I spared sensei's life when I beat him. I wish him to witness my dream come true. A dream he gave me, as a matter of fact." Pain spoke with some amusement audible.

Tsunade chuckled at that. "Somehow I don't think he would ever dream of world conquest. More like, he'd want the world where women were forbidden to have clothes, unless they're too young or too old or ugly."

"That's some dream." Baki whispered, then blushed when everybody stared at him. "Nevermind."

"What is your dream?" Mifune asked coldly staring at the man who walked in his fortress like he owned it. It bespoke of arrogance no doubt. Or confidence in one's own power.

"To bring peace to this world full of suffering." Pain stated, eyeing everyone. "Our world is constantly at war. Strong nations exploit the weak ones, using them as pawns for their own gain without regard as to who suffers. It has always been so, because people can never really understand each other unless they experience the same pain, and even then it's hard. We are far too separate form each other in our minds."

"So what do you think to do to change that?" Raikage growled. "Why do you need our jinchuriiki?"

"I have no need of them, only of their biju. Fear not, your jinchuriiki are still alive and will be returned to you in a few days."

"Impossible! Everyone knows that the jinchuriiki can't survive the extraction of their biju!" Tsuchikage stated with angry tone.

"I am not everyone Tsuchikage, so calm down. Han and Roshi will return to your village should they desire so. I'm afraid that some of your living weapons weren't treated well by some of you." Pain replied with sharp glare at every Kage.

"You've got interesting eyes," Kakashi stated, his Sharingan unveiled again.

"It's not a genjutsu, isn't it?" Tsunade looked at him, and smiled thinly when Kakashi shook his head. "So, you are the one Jiraiya sought for so long."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Raikage asked with angry face. "He's got some half assed dojutsu, so what? You Konoha bastards have them dime a dozen!"

"My men will laugh when they hear that one, Rinnegan called a half assed dojutsu." Pain chuckled.

"That's just a myth. Rinnegan was just a random mutation." Kakashi stated firmly,but everyone could sense a tension in his voice.

"Sensei believed it was real and that I am the reincarnation of the Rikudo Sennin. He taught me how to use it, in the beginning. Later I begun discovering other powers of my eyes, many of which you've never even heard of." Pain said boldly.

"You talk big, but can you back it up?" Baki challenged the gray eyed man.

"I'm not here to perform for you, but if you insist, go out of the room and bring in two guards I killed before I entered."

Mifune glared at him, but nodded and his samurai vanished, only to return with two of their comrades dead. The placed them in the empty space within the half circle of the conference room.

Pain looked at Tsunade. "Would you confirm that they are really dead?"

"Fine, but this better be good." Tsunade growled and did as Pain asked. She checked them with medical jutsu. "They have their necks broken, they are dead all right."

"Good, now look and see my power!" Pain anounced and placed his hands in a ram handsign. He closed his eyes to concentrate better, uncaring if someone attacked him. After a minute or two, the dead samurai suddenly sat up with terrified expressions on their faces.

"Kami's balls!" Tsunade shouted and immediately checked the previously very dead men. She stood up and faced Pain with fear in her eyes. "How? You're only a man."

"I am a man with the eyes of a god, a god of pain. I will bring the world so much pain that everyone will know it and finally they will want no more. Then we shall have peace." Pain anounced with dead serious tone.

"By all that's holy, why would you want to waste your gift so?" Mifune asked, still shocked by what he saw. His men were still in shock too, babbling about their dead parents.

"Waste? I don't think so. I have observed humanity and I saw greed, corruption, violence and lack of empathy. I will not do anything myself, they, you will do it to yourselves with my gift."

"What gift?" Raikage asked with his face a shade paler.

"You're all aware of the destructive potential of the biju. I will use them all to construct a weapon of mass destruction the likes you've never even imagined. And I will give it to the human race." Pain explained and smiled as he saw every one of them go palere than ever.

"Ah, you understand! True to it's nature, humanity will inevitably use it. And pain will spread across the world until people will not be able to stand it anymore. They will cease to fight and the era of peace will begin. Until people grow decadent and corrupt again. Then it will start all over, and so forth- a cycle of destruction and renewal for all time."

"Madness!" Raikage bellowed. "People are morons, you psycho. All you will be doing is giving them new weapons. The world will be destroyed. What right have you to steal our weapons? If you want it so badly, go and make your own!"

Pain scowled, then his face smoothed in that superior facade. "Right? I have it and I will tell you why. It' s written on the secret tablet of the Uchiha Clan, they had it since the dawn of their existence, passed from one generation to the next and so from the very first of their line. Only those with the Sharingan can decipher it, and I with my Rinnegan could do even more than the strongest of their line, for my eyes gave birth to theirs."

"And how did you get your hands on it?" Tsunade questioned, although she suspected the answer.

"When Uchiha Itachi slew his kinsmen, I was able to enter their hidden shrine and gaze upon the tablet unopposed. And I have seen all of it's secrets, meant for those with the same eyes as the revered Six Paths Sage." Pain stated and saw hints of belief in every listener. "It was like this; once long ago there was a travelling priest who lived in a time of strife and war. He too sought peace for men and he was gifted with vision beyond any man alive. He discovered the final secrets of chakra and founded a new religion with many followere, his Nin-shu, ninja sect. But you all know that.

"What was forgotten is this-there was a menace to the world at the time, the cause of much destruction and death to all. The Sage went to confront this menace, this beast of ten tails. Juubi." Pain paused for the effect, pleased to see they were intent on his words.

"He couldn't defeat Juubi with raw power, even if he was much more powerful than me. So he creted a new skill and sealed the beast into himself, thus becoming the world's first jinchuriiki."

Now that had everyone shocked and amazed.

"So you see, the people of the world started to worship him as god for saving them. He lived for a long time, spreding the knowledge of chakra and his ideals. He was a holy man, our first teacher. But he was still only human. He had children, the legend speaks of two sons. The older inherited his ocular and spiritual power, while the younger inherited his physical power and body.

"But he knew he wouldn't live forever, especially since Juubi's power was constantly making war with his own and it strained him a great deal. As he felt his end coming, he decided to see who of his sons would be his inheritor. He called them to ask one question-what was the best way to gain peace. The older son said that strength was needed, the younger said it was love. The Sage chose the younger son.

" When his time was upon him, he went into isolation and worked his last jutsu. He knew that Juubi would be reformed after his passing and sought a way to stop it. So he used his ultimate power, the power of creation itself based on his mastery of Yin-Yang chakra, and split Juubi into nine lesser beasts that we know today. He lifted Juubi's physical body and used his power to seal it in the sky, creating the Moon as it's prison."

Every man and woman in the room exchanged disbelieving stares; the whole story was getting more and more outlandish. Raikage supressed his urge to don his Raiton armour and decapitate this story telling manac-he had to constantly remind himself that the man wasn't really in the room with them.

"I see you are getting impatient, so I will cut my story short. When the Sage died, his sons got into a fight because the elder son believed he was slighted and attacked his brother out of jealousy. It's not known who won, but the bad blood between them remained and was passed onto their heirs who later became two clans, the Uchiha and the Senju."

Tsunade looked bored, "That's pretty much what my family already knew, so I know that there is some truth to your tale. But tell me something new, and I doubt that all that was written on the tablet."

Pain gave her a nod of agreement. "You are right, on the tablet there was little of the feud between the two clans, but a lot about the origin and purpose of the Sharingan. Since it's descended of the Sage's eyes, it has their power over tailed beasts, since the Sage made them out of Juubi and his own essence, which resonates with the Sharingan and the Uchiha spiritual energy. Even then, only a few of them could truly sync with the biju, especially Kyuubi."

"You speak of Uchiha Madara." Tsuchikage concluded, then amended his words. "And Hashirama Senju."

Everyone agreed, the two legendary shinobi were famous for their ability to control tailed beasts, especially Hashirama who was said to have kept them like pets.

"Indeed. Madara himself told me so and revealed he was the one who used Kyuubi to attack Konoha sixteen years ago." Pain dropped a veritable exploding tag in the room. Everybody started to talk, claiming this and that, mainly telling him he was a liar and that Madara was dead.

"Silence!" Pain exclaimed, releasing a wave of killing intent, strong enough for everybody to obey instantly. No, he saw they weren't cowed into submission, but he had their attention. "I do not lie, because I don't have to. Madara was indeed alive and he has been my advisor for many years, helping me to create the Akatsuki and realize the power of my eyes."

Tsunade leaned in her chair, eyeing the gray eyed man with speculation. "I take it you and Madra had a falling out of sort, since you refer to him in the past tense."

"Yes. I wasn't deceived by his helping manner. I knew he had his own plans with the biju, namely he wanted to become the new Juubi host to attain godlike power and rule the world. As if!"

"Hmm, you know that sounds like something he'd want," Onoki said. He grinned, "Hells bells, I'd want it too! Curse that man, how did he survive the battle with Hashirama-sama?"

Pain shrugged. "He used a forbidden technique that cost him most of his old strength. That's why he tried to manipulate me instead of doing everything by himself." Pain wasn't about to say everything Madara did or tried to do. Only Naruto truly knew the depth of Madara's megalomania.

"Well, that was a nice chat Pain," Tsunade said suddenly, "so I say thanks for revealing the secret of the biju and all that, but if you believe we will just drop on our knees and watch you walk over us...eat shit! I admit Konoha isn't the place of purity and truth, nor that we're the good guys here. But that doesn't mean you're right and so we will do our best to stop you. You are playing with the forces beyond your control, Rinnegan be damned. You are risking the return of Juubi, just like your dead pal Madara. You are crazy, and that's it. "

"I agree!" A bellowed, slamming his fists on the table. "I want Bee and Yugito back! And our biju as well!"

It wasn't the most intelligent word of support, but it got things rollling. In moments, every Kage had supported Tsunade's point of view. Pain looked at the assembled leaders and their guards and closed his eyes. "So be it. I will crush you and take Ichibi, then I will obliterate your hidden villages. You will know pain like never before."

"Wait!" Tsunade called out to the leade of the Akatsuki before he left them. "I need to know why did Naruto betray us and has he really attacked the Mist ninja?"

Pain paused, then smiled coldly. "That I will tell you gladly. He joined me because he hates your village for being hypocrites. He never chose his fate yet everyone blamed him for something he never did or wanted to be. Did you know he was an empath?"

"He can sense emotions of others?" Tsunade said with pained expression for everyone to see and wince in realization. To be able to feel truly how others regarded you, to be stripped of any ability to lie to yourself to somehow ignore the sordid truth of your bleak existence...there was a word for it- HELL!

Pain nodded to them. "I see you are aware what he must've been through, and I tell you still have no idea. I too am unable to understand the depth of his pain, but I can guess at his level of hatred. He has grown with the desire to save others from his fate. He asked me to spare the other jinchuriiki in exchange for his assistance and I agreed. That's why you will have your jinchuriiki back. Perhaps you will no longer hate them and regard them as mere weapons, but I sincerely doubt that."

After he let his words sink, he spoke again. "Naruto kept his word and after giving me Kyuubi, he went and defeated Killer Bee thus bringing me Hachibi. He is truly a unique ninja, stronger than Jiraiya-sensei now. He killed the Godaime Mizukage and other Mist nin because they tried to subject another innocent child to the same fate he and others had. The same will happen to all of you if you truly persist in hiding Ichibi from us. When I'm done with the biju, you will never be able to make another jinchuriiki. That's why he has joined me."

"Hell, now I know how they got Deidara on their side, with all the explosive power they intend to create." Onoki muttered. He wasn't moved by the revelations about some snot nosed brat from Konoha.

"It doesn't really matter," Tsunade replied in the end. "He has made his choice and I can even understand him. But when you see him, tell him I will rip off his head."

"You will try," Pain smirked and closed his eyes. His image shimmered until it vanished, leaving behind just another samurai who immediately collapsed on the floor.

* * *

The real Pain, Nagato, opened his eyes at a place far away from the samurai fortress and sighed. His attempt to impress the ninja leaders wasn't sucessful, but he saw enough to learn about their tempers and their views of the world, so he could make educated guesses of their next moves.

He seemingly revealed much about his goals and plans, but they still knew nothing about what he could truly accomplish with the biju already in his grasp. They were in for a rude surprise.

* * *

Back in the fortress, the shinobi stared at each other. Finally, Raikage stood up. "I take it our plans for alliance are still valid?"

"Yes, they are." Tsunade said. "It's obvious we're dealing with a madman, but who is very powerful. We must hurry, before it's too late."

"I hate to say it, but Hokage-dono is right. We can't allow them to succeed. Iwa will mobilize all of it's forces, if other villages support us." Onoki anounced, floating in the air.

The rest followed the suit.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes in the darkness of his small cell inside the Akatsuki base and allowed himself a small frown of displeasure. He was floating half a meter in the air, deeply in the Force trance so that he could observe the meeeting of Kages from afar.

Nagato surprised him with his theatrics. He should've just blasted the whole fortress into smitherens, and the Kages as well. The ensuing confusion might've started the new war between hidden villages or at least slowed down their mobilization and cooperation attempts.

But no, he had to go there and blab about Juubi and other things. At least it was amusing to see their faces as they listened to the outlandish tale about Juubi and the Sage.

Soon, soon...his time was at hand.

* * *

**Howdy fellas! So sorry to be so late with this update, but I simply couldn't find the time and inspiration to write this chapter until today.**

**Yes, yes...still no real action from me. But fear not, the fight between Uke and and Mr. Tough Love will be next.**

**Manga comment: Kishi does some clever plot turns here and there, but really slowly. Flashbacks tend to annoy me, even if they have the slices of life of the Yellow Bulb aka Dad Who Stuffed Big Mean Fox In His Kid Just So That He Could Run Really Fast While Glowing And Still Be Slower Than Raikage. I heal myself reading Hentai manga about Tsunade and Naruto...kinky, but so funny!**

**Anime comment: Sasgay is evil, really evil. And definitively gay/incest dude. So much love for his big bro, so much contempt for girls who follow him around. Ok, ok neither Karin or Sakura are really hot, but they have that eagerness that could easily be channeled into more useful and relaxing activities...guess which ones! I know, dirty and sexist, but so true!**


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21**

Naruto paused at the door, allowing the prisoners to take a good look at him. He didn't have to read their minds to find out they wanted to rip his head off – the jinchuriiki were never really mild tempered people.

They were quite a colorful bunch. Hachibi's ex host was a mountain of muscle, dark skinned and with white hair and beard. He was quietly studying Naruto, looking for a sign of weakness. He wasn't rapping anymore, apparently he was really fond of Hachibi. Odd, but not really impossible.

Nibi's host was another story. Yugito was a tall blonde woman with athletic body, her eyes were dark. She also had a nice rack. She had a short sleeved black and purple shirt, black ninja pants and red belt around her waist. There was a chain of white beads on her left forearm. And she was trying to kill him with her gaze.

The other girl was angry too, but also oddly relieved deep within. She was Nanabi's host once. The girl had a mint green hair, orange eyes and tanned skin. She wore simple white sleeveless shirt and short white apron, with fishnet under both pieces. There was an orange clip in her hair.

Then there were the Iwa junchuriiki, Han and Roshi. Han was a tall, heavily armored man who radiated anger on principle. Naruto knew he had a difficult childhood, worse than his in a way.

Roshi was shorter, red haired man who dressed himself in a long-sleeved purple shirt and pants, and brown armour. He was the oldest jinchuriiki, yet his hair was still without white color. Rōshi was wearing a large headpiece consisting of a three pointed crown-like ridge, bearing both his Iwagakure forehead protector and ring, and a prominent black piece of armour running across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

The last was a man from Mist, Utakata, the host of Rokubi. Utakata was a tall, thin, young man with pale golden eyes and black hair that reached to his shoulders. His side partition let a large portion of his bangs cover the left side of his face. He was wearing a long, light blue kimono adorned with a small emblem of three bubbles on the back below the collar, and an orange sash.

"Hello guys, I bring good news!" Naruto told them with wide grin, much like a cat that caught it's prey.

"What news?" Yugito demanded hotly, feeling angry at the bastard who betrayed them all.

"You're being sent to your homes, as Leader-sama promised." Naruto anounced, causing the jinchuriiki to look at him with surprise and suspicion.

"Is that some kind of sick joke?" Han asked with anger flashing in his eyes.

Naruto shrugged, "I have no idea. You guys are relatively harmless without your biju, so we have no need to keep you with us. What's with your faces, I thought you'd be happy?"

"How can we be happy when you caused us to fail in fulfilling our duties?" Yugito spat angrily. "Not all of us are oathbreakers and missing nin!"

Naruto chuckled at her words. "My, my...how amusing! I'm honestly surprised, those bastards in Kumo certainly know how to raise their jinchuriiki properly. You must've been a nice obedient weapon, heh?"

"Screw you! Let me out of this shithole and I'll grind your balls into mush!" Yugito replied, her face flushed with anger.

"Calm down." Killer Bee told her and Yugito turned to look at him in surprise. Bee gave her a sad grin. "He is too strong for any of us Yugito chan, even without his biju. He is just toying with us."

"Actually, I'm not toying with you guys. Like I said, you'll be set free in a day or so." Naruto said with serious face. "I know how hard it was for most of you to carry your biju; that pain and loneliness and unfair treatment. That's why I joined these guys, to free us from something we never chose. When you are set free, choose carefully where you will go. You won't find home with the Akatsuki, we no longer recruit new members. But let me give you a warning – don't expect a warm welcome in your villages. Most likely you will be accused of treachery and weakness, because you were always the target for negative opinion of your so called comrades and neighbours."

Naruto saw that his words struck a chord in some, while others remained indifferent. It was expected, most of the jinchuriiki were well conditioned to be loyal to their villages. He suspected that Han and Utakata would vanish, never to return to their respective villages. Killer Bee and Yugito would return, so would Roshi, while Fu was just too scared to decide yet.

He left them to stew on his words, while he had other matters to take care of.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was standing in the meeting chamber along with several other high ranking jounin of the village, as Tsunade and her advisors anounced the formation of the Great Shinobi Alliance. Sakura was with him and so were the rest of Konoha's Rookies since they were among the strongest in their respective fields and they were also the heirs to the best ninja clans of Konoha.

There was the ANBU Commander, flanked by Morino Ibiki and Yamanaka Inoichi. Mitarashi Anko was sitting next to an unknown jounin, looking bored out of her mind. Gai and Kakashi were absent, which was odd, but no one questioned their non-appearance.

"Now, we must hurry with our preparations for the war with the Akatsuki. The ANBU are already at the highest alert. You will help with the preparations for the war also, I want all our ninja recalled from their missions immediately and start making lists of our supplies and personnel. I have named Nara Shikaku my war advisor, so I will be able to deal with the Alliance personally." Tsunade anounced.

"Are these criminals really that dangerous?" One man in the back asked, "There's only ten of them!"

"They posess all but one of the biju, so their power cannot be dismissed easily. And their leader wields the Rinnegan, a dojutsu more powerful than any we know about." Homura said with sharp tone that left no doubts about the severity of their situation.

"There is another important information that must be shared," Tsunade spoke. Her eyes were closed. Everyone saw how her advisors seemed immensely nervous. "At the summit, we have been told by the Godaime Mizukage that Uzumaki Naruto has joined the Akatsuki."

"What?" Sakura was visibly shocked, and so were the rest of the rookies.

"That's hard to believe, is there any proof?" Aburame Shino asked with calm tone, while Kiba was trying to support Hinata who looked horrified and tearful.

"He has unmasked himself to one of the Mist ninja, after killing the Yondaime Mizukage and her escort singlehandedly. It has been confirmed by our men that he was accompanied by none else than Uchiha Itachi who took control of Sanbi and they fled together to parts unknown." Tsunade said with firm voice that sent everyone reeling. But more hits were coming. "His defection has been confirmed by the leader of the Akatsuki."

Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life, blazing with rage, but his voice was emotionless. "Why? What would make him give up his power, the greatest of all biju?"

Tsunade gave him a flat stare. "Apparently he didn't appreciate that fact as much as we expected him to. His early life has left a mark on him, which he hid rather well. The Akatsuki offered him a way out- he is no longer a despised jinchuriiki, and yet he lives. My belief is that he was never loyal to Konoha."

"We should've killed the brat years ago!" Someone cursed loudly, which brought on a whole cascade of long hidden resentment and cursing. The rookies exchanged glances, finally seeing clearly what people really thought of Naruto.

"Ha,ha,ha!" Anko laughed merrily, slapping her thighs. Everyone stared at her. "Look at you morons, no wonder he defected."

"You bitch! Watch your mouth, or..."

"Or what, Ichiro-kun?" Anko purred, holding the terrified jonin from behind, her kunai resting under his jaw. The man trembled under her killing intent. Anko released him a moment later with disgusted sigh. "Pathetic! You better watch who you insult next time, weakling!"

"Anko, cease posturing." Ibiki spoke with cold tone, reminding his subordinate of proper behaviour. Anko grinned and returned to her old spot.

Tsunade cleared her throat to attract everyone's attention back to her. "With the information we have, I have no choice but to pronounce Namikaze Naruto an S ranked misssing ninja who is to be hunted by everyone, with no mercy."

"Namikaze?" A hundred voices shouted in terrible shock.

"That's a lie!" Someone shouted angrily. "There is no chance he's related to the Yondaime!"

"Sorry to dissapoint you, but it's true." Tsunade said with certain smug satisfaction. "Namikaze Minato married Uzumaki Kushina on the same day he was made the Fourth Hokage. When Kyuubi came, he decided to seal it in his only child, hoping that his Uzumaki blood will help him contain the creature more effectively. Besides, what kind of a man would demand someone else's child when he had his own? And we all know what kind of a man he was. You are dismissed."

"But..." Someone tried to ask something, but Tsunade hopped to her feet and released her killing intent which sent most people to their knees, her face was a snarling visage of rage.

"But what, you pieces of SHIT? WHAT? What do you want now that you know the truth?" She was breathing heavily and one lone tear slid down her cheek. "It was you ungrateful sons of whores who belittled him since the day he was born! It was you who taught him to lie, to betray and hate! Why do you make such surprised expressions? After all, he is just a demon brat. What matters who his parents were? What matters that he was my only living relative? Has this village forgotten it's history so easily? I am an Uzumaki by my mother and grandmother, in case you have forgotten! You bore the symbol of his and my clan all this time, yet you spat on him, cursed him, hated him, beat him up, stole from him...what more do you want? Forgiveness? By the gods, my grandfather and granduncle, Minato whom you all loved so...they are probably screaming at the injustice you gave them and their blood! You disgust me! Get out of my sight you snivelling worms! Leave, all of you!"

There was a shocked silence for a few seconds, but everyone obeyed and there was a sudden rush to leave the chamber. The rookies had stunned expressions on their faces, they were moving on autopilot.

When they were all gathered outside in a park not too far from the Hokage Tower, Kiba summed it up in one crass sentence. "We're fucked!" Akamaru barked his consent.

"By the gods, we didn't know!" Ino protested angrily.

"We have been lied to all these years," Sasuke hissed angrily. He also felt Orochimaru's distant laughter, the snake was enjoying all that profoundly.

"I can't believe it!" Sakura said, feeling numb all over. "My parents, they...they hated him always. I remember how my mom used to tell me he was bad, that I should avoid him at any cost."

"The teachers hated him too," Shikamaru said, his hands in his pockets and his eyes looking at his feet. "I remember how Funio- sensei always tried to make him look stupid or to place blame on him for stuff that went wrong."

"Only Iruka-sensei liked Naruto," Hinata sniffed sadly. "He will be devastated when he hears this."

"But, Naruto is now our enemy." Choji said, stumblig a little over that word. He never thought that a fellow classmate would become his enemy.

"Yes, and that scares me." Hyuuga Neji admitted, much to everyone's surprise. "He was the strongest among us back then. I don't wish to find out what did he learn from Jiraiya-sama."

"That is something to consider, but we also have to factor in that he's no longer Kyuubi's container. His enormous chakra reserves are not so enormous anymore. His whole strength is lesser now." Shino said his piece.

"No, he is still extremely dangerous Shino-kun." Hinata disagreed. "I know that most people believe he owes his power to Kyuubi, but I used to watch him a lot and I can tell you he never really relied on it much. What we know of him is still a valid fact. Please, don't underestimate him."

"I agree. But I have to wonder if he will really come against us with intent to kill?" Shikamaru asked, causing everyone to flinch slightly.

"We must assume he will. Naruto that we all knew was probably just a fake he presented for the authorities. He used the village's resources and stole Jiraiya-sama's secrets, then left. He was never our friend." Sasuke said, and everyone knew he was right, no matter how hard it was to accept.

"What do we do then?" Rock Lee asked, his bright smile gone.

"We fight to defend our home." Choji rumbled, his eyes blazing with grim determination.

"Yeah, it's a home full of lying shitheads, but not everyone is guilty. We gotta fight to protect those who were good people and still are." Kiba muttered angrily. He was going to have words with his mother.

"It's actually scary when you think about it closely," Ino said with strange smile on her face. "All those people we know are nice and decent, who have families and who always smiled at us...how could they hate him for so long and so blindly? How? He was just a kid born at the wrong time and wrong place."

"They were scared, so they lashed out at him." Shino said, reminding everyone that he and his family weren't that popular either because of their bug hives they hosted within their bodies.

"I believe it's all useless now, we must deal with this no matter how we look at it. Naruto is now our enemy and I will not let him hurt me or my friends, no matter how sorry I feel for him. Nobody deserved that kind of treatment, but I didn't hate him or hurt him. Neither my family has. I refuse to let him hurt us or you guys." Tenten said with firm voice.

Everyone nodded at that, it was just the way it was. Life really sucked sometimes.

* * *

Tsunade was sitting in her office, looking out of the window at the village and took a long drink from the sake bottle. She was still angry at those stupid prejudiced idios who spent so much time pissing on her family, unknowingly yet very persistently. It was always easier to hate and blame others.

She shivered in sudden premonition of doom; somehow she knew that Naruto was that one enemy Konoha just would not beat. They have underestimated him too much and now he would be coming to show Konoha what it meant to piss of an Uzumaki.

"Gods help us, but we're all dead." Tsunade muttered and took another swig.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke walked in his house slowly, his whole body trembling with anger. There was also some hurt in it all. Despite what he claimed, Sasuke came to respect Naruto's strength and skill. Now, he came out to be us deceitful and cruel as That Man! They even worked together now!

It was surreal to even consider; Naruto was the son of Konoha's greatest hero since the First Hokage's time – and now he was a missing ninja. It was crazy and humiliating, the other ninja villages would consider them idiots and incompetents.

Sasuke shivered suddenly; there was a scary thought that assailed his mind – did he master THAT jutsu? If he did, they were all dead.

"A ryou for your thoughts, Sasuke." Came a familiar voice from the backyard and Sasuke shunshinned on the roof to observe from safer position. His eyes widened, it was that masked bastard!

"You? What are you doing here?" Sasuke growled, but didn't bother to attack or call for help. He knew that this guy was impervious to all attacks.

"It's time for you to meet your destiny."

"What?" Sasuke asked with narrowed eyes, his Sharingan activated. He stiffened when the masked man moved his left arm slowly and removed his mask. Sasuke's eyes widened in shock! "Naruto?"

"Your face looks so funny!" Naruto grinned, chuckling merrily.

Sasuke didn't feel amused. "Why? Why did you betray Konoha? Hokage-sama was crying when she anounced your betrayal! Kakashi sensei must be hurt too."

"No skin of my back," Naruto shrugged and looked quite calm about it. "I did what I needed to do and now I'm doing what I wanted to do for a long time. I assume people now know who I really am?" Sasuke nodded tersely, still too shocked to make a move. Naruto smirked. "Heh, I wish I could've seen that. I bet most of them refused to believe that I'm their beloved Yondaime's son, at least at first."

"Don't you feel obligated to follow his example and come back?" Sasuke tried to reason with Naruto. "I know it was hard, but you ..."

"Stop!" Naruto cut Sasuke off. "You have no idea what are my reasons for doing what I do and you would never understand. I will tell you this; this place is of no concern to me. Whether Konoha survives what is coming or not, it's all same to me."

"What could be so important ?" Sasuke asked stubbornly.

"Indeed, but that will have to remain my secret. Now, are you ready to face Itachi?"

Sasuke scowled. "Where is he?"

"I will take you to see him now." Naruto said.

"Like you did the last time?" Sasuke challenged him, getting ready to fight. He channeled chakra subtly to his limbs, preparing to attack at the first chance.

"That was different, Orochimaru is gone now. I will take you to Itachi."

"No, I don't..." Sasuke begun replying when something pushed him of the roof and he found himself hanging in the air in front of smiling Naruto.

"I never said you could refuse," Naruto commented and moved closer to Sasuke. In the next moment their surroundings changed, they were in the forrest, somewhere. Sasuke fell on one thick tree and balanced himself easily. Naruto was standing a ways off, pointing in one direction. "We are in the woods surrounding the ancient Uchiha temple. It's that way. Itachi is in there."

"Alone?" Sasuke asked feeling suspicious.

"Yes." Naruto replied and vanished. Sasuke grimaced, apparently his worst fear was true – Naruto had mastered the Hiraishin. He had to win his fight to inform Konoha of that.

* * *

There was a weight upon Itachi's soul as he waited for his brother to come. This was the moment he had been waiting for for many years, also he was reluctant to accept that it came – he never wanted to fight Sasuke.

But his path was sealed for him when he met that monster Madara. A short moment of hope came when Naruto informed him of Madara's death; but that was it – Naruto concocted his cruel plan and made him agree to it. Pein even sealed the deal when he healed him a few days ago with his mystical power. The Rinnegan was truly the eye of Rikudo Sennin.

"He will be here shortly, Itachi." Naruto said, after suddenly appearing next to the chair of stone where the prodigious Uchiha sat.

"I find your teleportation ability most disconcerting, considering that Madara had it too." Itachi commented, never showing any sign of such sentiment.

"I find it most amusing, he was very vain of his Mangekyou based powers. And my father merely had to draw a seal formula to replicate it. I perfected it, according to his designs. And here we are." Naruto smirked, enjoying the fact he was lying through his teeth and no one could tell.

"Wasn't there supposed to be a seal to mark your arrival point?" Itachi asked, this time not feigning his curiosity.

"That is still necessary, but my range around it has been vastly increased. My father had seen the limitation of the original seal and worked hard to remove it. He made some progress, but he died too soon to finish it. I did that, but I'm still tied to the seal. Only my range has been improved."

"Impressive. I will ask you to not interfere in this battle, I intend to test my brother immensely."

Naruto shrugged. "Do as you wish, just remember our deal. Sasuke lives, but you steal his eyes. I'll seal the wounds so that no one can shove more Sharingans in. When all is done, he'll get your eyes, his eyes, back."

"For a spy, you're awfully good at acting Naruto. It's quite possible you will never be able to prove your innocence." Itachi noted, feeling suspicious in the depths of his mind.

"I have taken that into consideration. It's a small price to pay for what must be done. I think I don't need lectures from a man who killed his whole family on orders and now will mutilate his beloved brother."

"How do you intend to stop Pain? In a few weeks, he will have all of the biju."

"I thought you'd have realized my plan by now." Naruto smirked.

Itachi paused momentarily, thinking hard. "You can't beat Pain fast enough to..." Itachi went still for a few moments as his mind worked furiously. He smiled in the end. "I see, you're going to steal the biju with the Hiraishin. I assume you have already placed seals on it for transportation."

"I have, but not these. I had to mark the statue with special formulas that will remove the bond between Pain and the statue, as he can summon it to his location at will. I will send it via Hiraishin in the orbit where no one will be able to reach it. "

Itachi was stunned. "In the orbit? How will you place your seal there?"

Naruto chuckled in response, "I've already done that! I simply used Hiraishin to send two metal plates with Hiraishin's formula placed in between them to be protected from the cold and vacuum. It is possible to send an object remotely with that jutsu. A small object like that, I just happened to have enough chakra for it when in the Sage Mode."

"Impressive," Itachi admitted, mentally marking the fact that Naruto could use Jiraiya's strongest skill.

The Sage Mode was something he never saw, but the rumours were that it made him at least a few dozen times stronger, which was something terrifying to contemplate – Jiraiya was already a Kage level in his normal state. Naruto was probably even better.

"What will happen to the statue, once it's up there?"

"I will detonate it. The blast will be terrible, but no one will be harmed by it. The biju will eventually reform on the surface, hopefully."

"What if they return to the Moon? The Juubi..."

"Pah! Madara was an idiot. No matter how strong Rikudo Sennin was, he couldn't create the Moon. Do you know how massive that thing is? It's only six times smaller than our world. We're talking about a mass inconceivable to a human mind, besides the abstract general number and numerous zeroes trailing after it. No, Juubi is now nine beasts that have no desire to loose their individuality, a gift of separate intelligence by the Sage. He was a clever bastard all right, he gave them true consciousness out of his own and that ensured they would want to stay separate."

"How did you figure that out?" Itachi asked with some surprise.

Naruto shrugged, "It was obvious. You have heard the legend of the mad priest who infected Shukaku with madness when he merged their spirits?"

"I see, that makes sense. The legend was old, but some truth was hidden in it." Itachi realized, forced to admit that Naruto's thoughts might be truer than Madara's.

"I gotta go, Saskue is coming." Naruto said and vanished without trace.

Itachi immediately fell into his 'cruel, uncaring' persona, ready to face Sasuke and make sure that his clan was resurrected and it's tainted history cleansed once and for all. Maybe Naruto will agree to killing Koharu and Homura and those few among the ROOT, to ensure the real fresh start for his brother.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke paused at the entrance to the temple, momentarily struck by the weight of the moment that was upon him – another step and he would be standing in front of the man who took everything from him, even himself.

The massacre, the sight of his dead parents...they were terrible. But the worst was the fact that Itachi was the culprit, that he never loved him back. Sasuke worshipped his older brother who made him feel appreciated in ways his father never had. It was Itachi who was there when he started to crawl and walk, when he said his first word ( it was 'momma', but his mother wasn't there at the time). Itachi taught him his first handsign, his first kata...and then he made it all a lie!

He should've seen it coming, because Itachi was less and less present in his life as he grew older, until the first year in the ninja academy. Itach was practically just a guest at their home, a kind but aloof cool cousin who had no time for even a simple kunai practice with him. He was most likely already well set in his intent to ruin everything, so he didn't even bother to pretend so much anymore.

But Sasuke still had to hear the full explanation, so he set his shoulders straight and walked in.

"Itachi," Sasuke said coldly to the man sitting leisurely on the stone chair across the circular chamber. The walls were smooth empty oval, only behind Itachi were painted the Uchiha fan and strange drawings of what seemed like stylized tails or tomoe of the Sharingan.

"I see you still lack the same eyes as mine, foolish brother." Itachi replied, mentally cataloguing everything about Sasuke. His younger brother seemed very strong now, he could feel his potent chakra. His Sharingan was fully matured as well. In looks, Sasuke favored their mother.

"I would never stoop that low!" Sasuke answered. "I am strong enough to win my battles as I am. Before we begin, I want a real reason for what you did. I'm sure Danzo didn't know all your thoughts, no matter what he believed."

Itachi gave a cold smile, "I see. Well, I suppose it won't matter anyway. As you guessed, I had an ulterior motive. You are aware that Madara was alive until recently?" Sasuke nodded. Itachi closed his eyes for a moment and smiled. "It was his plan and I went along with it. I wasn't as keen on it, but then I came to realize that our clan deserved to be destroyed, even if not for Madara's wounded pride."

Sasuke stared in dumbfounded shock. Itachi noticed it. "It's hard to believe that, yes? Let me explain then, little brother so that you may fully grasp how low our blood has fallen. I know you are aware of the Mangekyou and how to obtain it, I sent you to that secret shrine so that you may understand the curse of the Uchiha legacy."

"Curse? I don't understand!" Sasuke growled.

"I will explain. You see, I lied when I told you that you would be only the third to obtain the Mangekyou, if you succeeded in getting to that level. There were others, meticulosuly hidden from open scrutiny by our Elders. The first two were Uchiha Izuna and his brother Madara. I know you know of the ill effects of the Mangekyou."

"I also know of the way to escape them." Sasuke interjected with angry glare. "That was your intent in the first place, to steal my eyes."

"Hmm, so Danzo informed you of that. He was well aware of our secrets it seemed." Itachi commented, but that didn't phase him at all. " Yes, Madara stole Izuna's eyes and grew even more powerful. He claimed that Izuna gave them freely, but why did he die shortly after? As it turned out, the rest of the clan begun slowly fear him and after the First Hokage was chosen they shunned Madara openly, for he was trying to make them take up arms against the so called Senju conspiracy to subjugate the Uchiha. It was madness and he was forced to leave, later he lost his last battle against his eternal rival. But he wasn't forgotten, little brother. His dark deeds left a mark upon our clan, the dark desire for more power at any cost. We have never known of the Mangekyou until he came and of the Eternal Mangekyou we haven't even dreamed. But after him, we did do so."

Sasuke wasn't slow to pick up on that hint. "There were other attempts to replicate his feats?"

"Yes, a number of our beloved cousins attempted to slay their best friends to gain more power that way. There were never straight records on some of the 'accidents' that occured through the years, but I found some suspicious cases that were never investigated fully. There was some advantage in the fact that the Uchiha were sole members of the police force. And then some Uchiha were found dead in certain cases, with the clan actively obscuring any evidence- those were the ones who tried to do the forbidden and were punished for it. Some were spared, to be used as weapons during the wars. Their eyes lost their light after a time, those were the ones with no siblings to avoid their fate. So you see, our clan was rife with betrayal and lust for power and I chose to end it once and for all."

"How can you say that when you killed everyone? Where is your excuse?" Sasuke demanded.

"Like I said, I erased them from existence in order to have a fresh start. Danzo was a clear proof that our darkest traits were being exposed to the outsiders. I let him believe I was as evil as the rest of us. I used him and here we are. I will remake the clan in my own image, as Madara did once." Itachi dropped the bombshell upon his beloved sibling, dangerously getting close to full admission of his sins.

"You...?"

"I have decided to give you a chance to do the same, to start over – if you can beat me. Only the stronger of us can do this. That is the purpose of our meeting, here and now. I expect a good fight, brother."

Sasuke fought the bile in his throat, his brother was insane. "What happened to you to make you so cold? You killed our mother, for Kami's sake! What did she do, took away your favorite toy?"

Itachi gave him a sad stare. "I was hoping you'd never ask that. While our father only wanted us as clan's best warriors, our mother cared for us in her own way. Have you ever wondered why she stopped being a ninja?"

"To take care of us," Sasuke said automatically, dreading the next words from his brother. Itachi was crazy, and that included the ability to spill truth without a care for the consequences.

"That was when we were younger, but she could've easily left us to be watched by our aunts and uncles. The clan takes care of their own, you know that. No, she had a dark secret that I worked hard at unravelling, ever since the Kyuubi attacked."

"You were five then!" Sasuke stated in disbelief.

"Yes, I know. I was already old enough to watch you, while our parents did the stuff they had to. That night, our mother was not with us, and I always wondered what was she doing. I took the answer from her head before she died, Tsukiyomi is a useful tool for such purposes."

Sasuke shook with rage, Itachi used that abominable jutsu on their mother!

Itachi waited till his brother calmed down, but he relized it was good he was telling him this. Sasuke would grow only more deternmined to fight him afterwards. "It was very dissapointing, in my opinion. In the end, our mother was as tainted as the rest."

"What?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

"It's really disgusting. She used to best friends with Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto's mother. She also loved being kunoichi, but she had to marry our father for it was arranged by our grandparents. It was a good match obviously, since she birthed me and you, and we're obviously more talented than most Uchiha in the last fifty years. Are you getting it now?"

"No! It's not possible!" Sasuke denied vehemently,"Mom would never..."

"But she had." Itachi snapped sharply, cutting Sasuke off. "She betrayed her best friend that night to Madara, who needed to know when she would be giving birth to Naruto. Because Uzumaki Kushina was the previous container of Kyuubi. He used her weakness at that time, took Naruto hostage to distract the Fourth and steal her away. He ripped the Fox out of her, as our mother watched from distance. Then he sicced the Fox at Konoha, but the Fourth overpowered him and saved the village."

"I don't believe you!" Sasuke yelled.

"I don't care, it's true. Our beloved mother had these eyes and soon realized she was loosing sight. That's when she realized she had no siblings to steal new eyes from, so she stopped using chakra altogether and became that stern but loving woman we knew. It was the ultimate end of her desirevto be the strongest kunoichi in Konoha. She loved fighting like so many of us."

"You said that the clan punished those who gained the Mangekyou, why was she left alone?" Sasuke asked, thinking fast to refute Itachi's claims.

"Everybody knew of their friendship and when the news came, our mother openly grieved. That's when she presented her eyes and everybody believed it was just an accidental reaction of grief, of true remorse. And father vouched for her, so she was left alone." Itachi explained. "When I killed Shisui, I gained these eyes because I truly cared about him. But Shisui knew me too well and was onto me, I had no choice but to defend myself when he came to arrest me. I had to do what I was planning, no matter what."

"I won't forgive you, Itachi!" Sasuke yelled, his body shaking with rage. "You are insane and I will end your existence."

"Let's see if you really can." Itachi murmured, ignoring the blade protruding from his chest. It was just genjutsu within genjutsu, the first test of his brother's prowess.

* * *

"Hmm, Itachi sure can spin a tale." Naruto chuckled as he observed the fight through the Force, mentally projecting his vision from afar. He didn't care if it was true what Itachi said about his mother, it was something that had no actual bearing on the current situation.

* * *

Sasuke screamed in rage as he felt Tsukiyomi trap him, as Itachi begun torturing him with various all too real methods. Then something snapped within him, a cold but immense intent to crush and destroy, and Tsukiyomi fell apart.

He was almost ready to collapse from the intense pain still lingering, like ghosts of torture still clinging to his limbs and he watched as Itachi also stopped to gain breath, his left eye was bleeding.

"Most impressive Sasuke, you broke Tsukiyomi. You are strong, but I see you had some help."

Sasuke looked at his shoulder slightly, and saw a leathery limb protruding from his upper right back- a monstrous wing-hand appendage whose clawed tips tried to hurt Itachi. His Cursed Seal reacted to his distress and he partially transformed. He willed the thing to go away, and glared at Itachi. "It's just a tool in my arsenal, nothing more."

He sent a massive array of weapons at Itachi, pulling them from hidden storage seals on his wrists – an idea he got from Tenten, and watched as Itachi blocked each one. He smirked and pulled on the wires and renewed the attack, using his Lightning chakra to make the various weapons much deadlier than before.

But Itachi already had a Kage Bunshin emerging behind him, using a powerful Katon burst to deflect the attack, while the real Itachi escaped, using his considerable speed to attack Sasuke from close up.

Sasuke managed to keep up, grateful for all the physical condidtioning Danzo forced on him. The bastard was a good teacher. He ripped off many of Gai's methods, no matter how ridiculous they seemed.

Sasuke wanted to use Lightning chakra on his sword, to increase it's cutting power but that was a waste of energy Danzo didn't tolerate. Itachi wasn't enhancing his kunai, so why should he do that for his sword?

Sasuke swung expertly his chokuto in short, dizzying arcs, using his larger range to keep Itachi at bay. Itachi was skilled with his kunai and managed to keep him away. Sasuke was on constant guard against his genjutsu, already dispelling two subtle attempts to make his perceptions askew.

He attacked harder, pressing with his chokuto in stab-hack pattern until his hand was just a blur. Itachi had to retreat, using space around him to evade the onslaught. Then he caught the tip of chokuto between his kunai and lifted it aside, aiming a sidekick to Sasuke's knee. Sasuke activated his Chidori Current and lightning coursed through him and arced in wide sphere around his body, hitting Itachi hard.

Sasuke suddenly rolled, avoiding an attack from behind while Itachi in front of him faded into nothingness, signalling the end of that genjutsu.

He glared hatefully at his older brother, "I can see through your illusions brother! Stop underestimating me!"

Itachi gave him a cold stare. "This isn't a contest Sasuke, I will not go easy on you. You still haven't learned what it takes to be the best."

Sasuke retaliated with a barrage of Chidori senbon, Itachi had to run at top speed to evade them. The senbon made dozens of tiny holes in the wall of the temple.

Sasuke saw where Itachi might go and raised his chokuto, producing a Chidori blade several metres long. Itachi used kawarimi with a piece of debris to avoid getting cut in half, but Sasuke waved his chakra weapon after Itachi, making considerable damage to the temple in process.

Itachi's counter attack came swiftly in the form of exploding tags, a whole lot of them. The explosion shook the chamber, smoke and stone obscured Sasuke's form. Itachi waited patiently, inwardly pleased with his brother's performance so far. That modification of Kakashi's jutsu was impressive by anyone's standards.

He glared at the sight of massive serpents encircling his brother, Orochimaru was in him still! It explained how strong his brother was. Perhaps it was good that Pain healed him, his chakra was still strong. Orochimaru had to go!

* * *

Naruto found his interest increasing as the fight developed. Sasuke had some nice moves, although still utterly inferior to his own. His overall power was much less than his, even without the Force.

Orochimaru's chakra apparently also gave Sasuke access to Orochimaru's snake contract.

* * *

Sasuke waited on the roof of the temple, expecting that his brother would follow. As Itachi blurred through, Sasuke's Kage Bunshin lanced him with a lightning jutsu, dispelling the clone. But that clone exploded, distracting Sasuke for a moment and Itachi was now with him, already breathing out a truly powerful Grand Fireball!

Sasuke responded in kind, while drawing on the seal and hating himself for it – Itachi was so strong! But satisfaction came to him when his jutsu begun overpowering Itachi's. He sensed something and shunshinned away, narrowly evading the fire that swallowed his own when he ceased his jutsu to avoid a secong clone that climbed the dome from the outside...Itachi already planned this! Luckily Sasuke was truly a master of Shunshin no jutsu.

Sasuke scowled and summoned a few gigantic snakes, big enough to eat a man in one swallow and they swiftly attacked Itachi, moving too fast for most ninja. Itachi wasn't one of them and used several powerful Earth jutsu to dispell them. Sasuke already hid himself below the dome and used a multiple Fire Dragon attack, creating many devastating attacks that exploded from below in the attempt to catch Itachi by luck. Itachi dodged and waited.

Sasuke cut loose and summoned a truly huge triple headed serpent that annihilated the dome and forced Itachi to retreat. "Eat him!" Sasuke screamed angrily, whipping his chokuto angrily in Itachi's direction.

The serpents obeyed, slamming down on the dome, causing firther devastation as Itachi desperately evaded them and Sasuke, who was using his Chidori sword to shield the flank and the rear end of his summon.

Itachi fell back town to the floor of the temple which was now open to the sky and shot a stream of black fire on the snake and Sasuke. The fire caught them quickly and the summon was soon gone, dead for certain since Amaterasu fire burned for seven days and seven nights.

He ceased his attack and ignored the half burnt remains of his brother, he had recognized Orochimaru's skin shedding technique. Sasuke used it well. He found Sasuke rushing him from behind, his Chidori blazing angrily. Itachi blocked his thrust with skilled redirection of momentum as he swung Sasuke singlehanded over his head and into the hard stone ground with a mighty slamming sound, the stone broke under the force.

Itachi's eyes widened in alarm as Sasuke's body erupted in lightning explosion.

* * *

Sasuke walked cautiously from behind a large piece of he dome, and found Itachi cradling his left arm. "Heh, you didn't escape that fully."

Itachi nodded. "It was a clever move to use a Lightning Clone, although it cost you half of your chakra. I take it Kakashi taught you that one. I never saw it before, it fooled my Sharingan because your chakra is Lightning natured and it's hard to see through the layer of Lightning chakra. But I'm always careful."

The thunder boomed in the sky that was grey, filled with rolling lightning filled clouds. Sasuke snarled in anger and shunshinned above, while Itachi followed at a slower rate to laet his arm recover, he couldn't use handseals at the moment. But he still had a decent amount of chakra, while Sasuke spent a great deal of his own.

He found his brother at the very top of the temple, standing tall and defiant on the monolith that topped the dome as if trying to reach heavens.

"I have fired those Fire Dragons with a purpose Itachi, witness my ultimate creation!" Sasuke roared and raised his hands glowing with the white blue corona of two Chidoris. "Behold the wrath of the nature, Kirin!"

Itachi reacted instantly, as his Sharingans morphed again into Mangekyou form and he whispered, "Susanoo."

Naruto whistled in amazement, Sasuke sure pulled out all stops! He muzzled the lightning itself, a force of nature strong enough to power a small city for a year. Now, that was something worth seeing and learning...

"You! Why don't you just die already?" Sasuke secreamed angrily when he saw Itachi was alive and shielded by some sort of red energy looking like ethereal skeleton.

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but this is as far as you will push me. I commend your power and skill, I haven't used this jutsu on anyone so far. But Susanoo is an impenetrable defense, a result of two Mangekyou Sharingan working together." Itachi explained and begun walking towards his brother.

"Eat this!" Sasuke screamed in turn and raised his hands and lightning obeyed him again. "I have enough chakra to do this again!"

The lightning descended again, wreathing like aliving beast above Sasuke and falling upon the red figure, creating a flash of white that blinded both warriors. The noise and minor earthshakes ensued, showing the true might of the attack.

But Itachi kept moving after each strike, his etheral guardian becoming more fleshy until it became a warrior spirit holding a shield and a sake bottle at his hip. Sasuke tried with numerous explosive notes, but to no avail.

"I win Sasuke!" Itachi said while slowly moving closer, making the younger Uchiha panic. "Your eyes are mine."

Sasuke froze at those words, looking for a way to escape. He needed more chakra so he drew upon Orochimaru's gift, beginning his transformation which was quick. His hair lengthened into a grey mane, his hand like wings erupted from his hard and darkened skin, his nails became short claws.

He fired a massive fireball at Itachi, but Susanoo was impenetrable. Sasuke jumped away, but had to stop his escape as Itachi cornered him with Amaterasu, cutting off his escape with a wall of black flames that burned all around them.

And then Sasuke fell on his knees and cried out – Orochimaru finally set himself free!

* * *

Itachi felt tired already, after pulling out Amaterasu again while holding Susanoo active. His cells were burning with intense pain and he knew he had a short time to finish the fight. The whole show was worth it, Orochimaru was out now!

He watched with disgust as the Snake Sannin appeared in the mouth of one of his multiple Hydra summons, gleefully intending to steal his brother's body. He ended the fools ambition with a single thrust of his ultimate attack- the legendary Totsuka sword that sealed it's victims in a realm of eternal dreams. A fitting end for Orochimaru who alway dreamed of power and immortality. He'd have the second, in a way.

* * *

Naruto stared in surprise, his true sight still locked on the area far awy, making him seem comatose. He had just witnessed a surprising turn of events; Orochimaru got free from Sasuke, only to fall to Itachi's strange sword.

The idiocy that Orochimaru displayed shocked him, he should've run away and couned himself lucky for surviving. But no, he had to stick to his desire to posess the Sharingan! See where it lead him!

It all happened too fast, otherwise he'd have jumped Orochimaru and sucked his brains dry to steal his jutsu. Oh well, he could do without them anyway. Orochimaru was too disgusting even to him.

It was time to finish this.

* * *

Sasuke scrambled awy from his brother, barely having any strength left, but the hungry look in Itachi's eyes left no doubt about the ultimate end of this fight.

He never saw a foot that hit his head and sent him into la-la land.

"Was that really necessary?" Itachi frowned, relaxing as he saw it was Naruto.

"Oh, would you rather take his eyes while he's awake?" Naruto asked with some amusement visible on his face. Itachi shook his head and he nodded. "It'll be quick, he will never feel pain."

Naruto decided to avoid any troubles and used the Force to make Sasuke deep asleep and cut off his sensation of hurt, and then he let Itachi do the actual removal of Sasuke's eyes. He just forcibly healed his empty sockets using the Dark Side for that, which was far from pleasant . The Dark Side could be used for such things, but it wasn't as effective as the Light Side healing. It was also often required that the healing itself was meant for some cruel purpose to work.

A couple of sealing tags later, Sasuke's eyes were properly sealed from any tampering without his permission.

Naruto created a single Kage Bunshin who immediately took Sasuke back to Konoha. The real Naruto took Itachi away, but not straight to the Akatsuki base, he had to keep his teleportation a secret.

* * *

"Kakashi! Kakashi!" Someone yelled and the silverhaired jounin looked away from the memorial stone he was staring at for the last few hours, trying to think of a way to fix his mistakes about Naruto.

Kakashi was utterly crushed by the realization that the son of the man he considerd his greatest hero and second father was now a missing nin with a grudge against Konoha as big as Orochimaru's. Or worse. And he was probably as powerful as that scum too.

"What is it?" He asked the unknown chunin while feeling utterly drained of any will to respond.

"It's Uchiha-sama! You must come with me to the hospital!"

"What? Why would he be there?" Kakashi felt dread.

"He...his eyes were removed and he is in very bad shape, as if he were in a battle. Hokage-sama is working on him personally."

Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving the chunin to pant from exhaustion as he was running at top speed to deliver the news to the famed jounin. He really wanted to learn Shunshin!

* * *

**Hi folks, I'm back! It took me awhile to figure how to write this one, hopefully I've done well.**

**All for you, naturally. I'm getting closer to the end of this part of Naruto's adventures. There are various endings I'm juggling, we'll see how it goes. Then he goes to the SW reality, although I'd love to get him into X-men or WH40K universe just to have some smashing fun!** **Think about Naruto as the new Emperor of Mankind or Naruto with Wolverine's healing factor!**

**I'm also working on basic ideas for Naruto/Smallville crossover, imagine Naruot with CK's powers who goes back home and lays some smack on Madara and Sasuke in a second! It wouldn't be a long fic, well not that part when he goes back, but he could return to Smallville and help Superman patrol Earth! Do you think he'd be a good pair with Kara?**

**Manga comment: I love mini Raseshuriken, Kishi sure reads fanfics, I think someone already thought of that!**

**I watched Transformers 3 and I can say it was mostly good, but damn that chick was soo...I want Mikaela back! This one wasn't as good looking, although she wasn't ugly either. Even if the first half of the film was kinda slow, the rumble in the last 45 minutes was un-frickin-believable!**

**Green Lamp dude wasn't so bad either, but still it felt kind of too short. Special effects rock!**

**Captain America better be great after Thor and GL, who weren't bad but not great either. So far only Iron Man was great, with Hulk close as second.**


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22**

"How are you feeling ?" Naruto asked Itachi who was lying on the bed in the medical chamber. It was an austere, sterile space with one and only purpose – healing. Itachi was resting on the metallic surface of the operating slab, fully dressed and thick medical bandages covered his eyes.

"I am all right," Itachi replied, his voice devoid of feelings. "My brother?"

"In Konoha, with everybody running in circles around him. But he's going to be just fine." Naruto informed the Uchiha, smirking. "And you are lying, I can sense your euphoria as you are absorbing the power in Sasuke's eyes."

"I seem to have no choice in the matter, it just is." Itachi said, still calm on the surface. He was struggling to maintain his composure. Naruto saw it and approved, control was essential to everything. Itachi may be his enemy in the end, but at least he could respect him a little.

"You know, I've been thinking about your bloodline a lot recently. Have you ever tried to find a rational explanation for the changes in your eyes that give you greater powers?"

Itachi cocked his head curiously, looking at him in a way. His eyes were bandaged, but he could 'see' Naruto by sound detection. "To be honest, I tried not to think of it too much. I find this process distasteful, if you must know."

"I know," Naruto smiled with amusement audible in his voice. "Bear with me a little more. As almost anyone can tell you, the eye of your family evolves as time goes by. It gets stronger, more useful. Then it reaches a plateau of it's ability in a three tomoe form. In that stage it's quite a formidable jutsu, literally. The black lines and dots, red irises filled with tightly focused chakra work in sync giving you and your clan extra perceptiveness which seems preternatural. It's a unique seal for a unique ocular technique."

"You are well informed and you understand the intricacies of our legacy quite well," Itachi commented when Naruto paused.

"Thank you, but I'm not done. I now how Sharingan works, maybe even better than you. Every Uchiha who awakens the Sharingan seems to have the same set of abilities. But you and I know it's not so. Your clan ascribed certain differences to differences in psyche, talent and power. But that's just one half of the solution to the question. The other is that each Sharingan is subtly different, just as brothers may be twins yet still different in some small ways. That is why some Uchiha have better genjutsu abilities like you and Shisui, while others have better spatial and temporal perception."

Itachi sounded interested, "You're not the first to propose such a theory, but we never had the means to prove or disprove it. In the end, we know that such differences occur."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "That's true. So why some Uchiha failed to activate the eye? I mean, seventy percent of your number usually activated the Sharingan by the age of thirteen. Some isolated cases occurred even at a later age."

Itachi frowned under bandages, "That has never been completely explained, but it was usually blamed on bad genes. Certain lines were more erratic in producing Sharingan users, that's all. It was always hard to keep our bloodline stable and pure, while avoiding too heavy interbreeding."

"That was probably true," Naruto agreed. "But why the instability in the first place? The Hyuuga were always producing children with Byakugan available, only with individual degrees of power and skill. Why are the Uchiha different?"

"They were even stricter in breeding than us in the past," Itachi explained. "Our eyes slowly evolved into modern shape after many centuries of breeding, during which we still accepted outsiders. That practice was abandoned later when our Sharingan stabilized."

"I suppose your explanation seems sound, since nobody really knows that the Hyuuga still take in the outsiders to refresh their bloodline." Naruto smirked. Itachi stiffened. "That surprises you? Eh, those Hyuugas are a crafty lot. They do it every generation or so, by sending some of their Branch Family women to seduce carefully chosen men and come back to give new blood into their clan. It has made them quite safe from the effects of interbreeding and dilution of their vaunted bloodline. For example, Hinata Hyuuga's grandmother slept with an outsider who was not of any clan and possessed no exceptional traits, save for being similarly built like all Hyuuga men."

"Nobody ever noticed?" Itachi wondered aloud, surprised a lot.

"No, why should they have? Everybody knows that they worship the purity of their blood. That's why they have to use that Caged Bird seal, their bloodline is quite stable and could be bred outside the Clan. Yet your clan has never seen fit to protect their bloodline so." Naruto said, watching with an interest as Itachi mulled over those facts. "So, what makes the Uchiha so different – your bloodline is still unstable, we know it. I know that the half-bred children can awaken the Sharingan in less than fifty percent of cases, while their descendants who aren't Uchiha at all loose any ability to do so in all cases. It's known even to you."

Itachi was getting annoyed with this. "I think you already think you know the answer, so be done with it already. I could use some extra rest."

Naruto chuckled in response, "Of course, so be it. I believe that the Sharingan isn't natural bloodlimit. When Madara told how the elder son inherited the Sage's spiritual energy and his dojutsu, I couldn't help but wonder why was the younger son so different. If they were truly the Sage's natural born offspring, they should have inherited all of his traits more or less equally. Yet one has the eyes and spiritual energy, the other has body and physical energy. It made me think on exact phrasing of the story. The meanings can change slightly through the centuries, or can become interchangeable. What if the story about the Six Paths Sage was essentially the same, but slightly differently interpreted? Students are often like sons to their teachers, sometimes they literally are reffered to as such. Perhaps the Sage adopted two boys who were really brothers or weren't. When they became suitable in his eyes, he transferred some of his unique chakra into them, changing them literally. You know it can be done."

"I don't think it very likely," Itachi commented.

Naruto shook his head, disagreeing. "I must warn you to beware the arrogance and pride you have, it will only blind you to the possibilities outside your current experience. I do not need you to believe me, this is just a theory I find more acceptable than the centuries old prattle drummed about by arrogant men who care only for their power and prestige."

Itachi chuckled at that. "I apologize for being a small minded fool then."

"No need, after all you are a product of your upbringing." Naruto humored the Uchiha. "Back to my theory. What makes it more likely is also the fact that the Senju are similar. While they were always naturally stronger, only a few among them showed really amazing powers like those of Hashirama and his brother. The same can be said for my clansmen, who were related to the Senju. Advantageous traits that occur naturally are prone to surviving and becoming stable, unlike those birthed by artificial means. It's a biological law, if you like. That's why I believe in my theory. "

"That's fine with me, but you strayed from the original topic of our conversation." Itachi noticed.

"Ah, yes!" Naruto chuckled. "Well, let's get back to it. The Sharingan changes it's appearance, or rather it reveals it's true structure as the wielder gets stronger and more prepared to deal with new abilities. I think that Sharingan does not evolve, it actually just activates it's hidden potential, it's true shape – my belief is that your ancestor possesseddd similar or even better powers than what you think as higher level of the Sharingan, the Mangekyou Sharingan. Somewhere in your blood is written, inherited what he passed on. What you all are doing is simply trying to awaken that remembered shape. Of course, you all are too different and each Mangekyou is different as well, but basic traits are all there. A super genjutsu or super ninjutsu, and always Susanoo."

"You forget the blindness," Itachi warned Naruto.

"Yes, that too, but my belief is it's not due to the Mangekyou per se, but because your body and brain aren't capable to support such chakra flow correctly and that's why you go blind. It's like trying to use the jutsu you can't control well and it hurts you. And when you take your sibling's eyes, that slight hitch in chakra flow is adjusted for. A wrong flow in the right channel causes damage, but a wrong flow in the foreign channel ( in this instance foreign eyes that are very similar to the original set) becomes a correct flow that causes no damage."

"I find your explanation odd, because it means that we are practically born to literally grow our eyes for our siblings. It doesn't sit well with me." Itachi said, obviously not convinced.

"Whatever," Naruto shrugged. "I just wanted to share my theories, that's all. I suppose I should go now, there's work to be done."

Itachi relaxed as Naruto's footsteps receded in the distance, his mind still trying to wrap around the ideas the blonde casually threw his way. He couldn't help but truly consider that some were possibly really true. It was the cornerstone of the Uchiha's existence, their connection to the Six Paths Sage.

Now, it was all just a misinterpreted truth, bent to suit the egos of their predecessors during the early days of the clan. Itachi knew of the reasons behind the feud with the Senju and found them petty. Now he thought them even worse.

He thought quietly on how to proceed further. He would be healthy soon, and more powerful than ever. He was pretty certain that his life was nearing it's end. Pain would have made certain he could be defeated quickly in the case he tried something – which meant that he was booby trapped with some kind of death seal. Perhaps Naruto himself put it on him. He wouldn't think it beyond the blonde's ability and willingness. Naruto was obviously as dangerous as Madara. Maybe even more. Luckily he still had one ace up his sleeve. But who to use it on? He still didn't know who'd be the best target.

Pain was undoubtedly the most powerful member of the organization, maybe even immune to his trump card. But Naruto...he scared him. He just was too smooth, always able to see things in the way no one else could. And he possessed the secrets of the Uchiha, which should've been impossible. Oddly, he was unusually certain in his theories about the Sage. Was it possible that Kyuubi told him certain things?

He had to be patient, until the biju were collected fully. Then he'd see who he could use better. It was now about the fate of the world, that he was certain about. Even Konoha could be sacrificed for that goal.

* * *

Light trickled feebly through the curtains, creating a gloomy shadowed space where people had to strain their eyes to see properly. It wasn't the best atmosphere for a hospital room, but the current occupant wasn't complaining.

Uchiha Sasuke was lying on his bed, conscious and alternating emotionally between despair and hope. He was blind, his eyes were stolen from him.

The memory of the fight haunted him; he was so close! But Itachi was far stronger than he or anyone else had thought. His sheer power enabled him to match Sasuke even with his Curse Seal, Orochimaru's power and all the training and enhancement drugs Danzo provided in the last three years.

He almost had him, were it not for that cursed power of the Mangekyou. Those blasted eyes proved to be an impassable shield and terrifying blade against which even his strongest jutsu failed.

But he had enough time to replay the battle in his memory, which was perfect. The truth was, he was closer than he had thought at first. He had seen the strain of those eyes, the way Itachi swayed a little while maintaining Susanoo. If only he had more chakra, more stamina to drag the fight on...

Yes, he was closer than he hoped. Sasuke smiled to himself, it was worth it.

Itachi would have his power and his last, hidden gift. For once in his life he had felt thankful for Danzo's teachings. Everything could be used as a weapon, even one's own eyes. For some time he was on a special drug regimen, a type of nerve poison that could kill slowly if given to a person unprepared for it's ingestion.

His whole body was saturated with it, making it a part of itself. It was an old trick used mainly by poison specialists. There were ninja who were literally walking poisons, able to kill with mere breath or touch.

Sasuke didn't have to go that far, just enough to make his eyes lethal to Itachi who would certainly take them for himself.

That knowledge kept him sane, happy even. He was free of his past, of Orochimaru and he had Itachi to thank for that. The only thing that concerned him was those damnable seals Naruto put on him to prevent him from getting a new pair of sharingans. The blonde bastard must've planned it that way from the start, but why ?

Naruto was the true enigma here; whose side he was really on?

Hope and despair, it was such a bitter combination. Sasuke laughed, producing a dark, sad sound, yet it also carried a sense of relief. He just had to wait, he didn't dare say anything of his secret weapon to anyone, not until Itachi was presented dead in front of him. He wasn't giving that bastard any chances at surviving, not this time!

* * *

"So, what do you think?" asked Tsunade, staring through the window of her office which gave her a beautiful view of Konoha sprawling far and wide.

"Hm?" Kakashi asked, suddenly roused from his morose thinking. Tsunade glared at his lack of attention so he hurried to find an answer. "Honestly, I'm a bit concerned. Why was Sasuke left alive on our doorstep? Why did Itachi spare him? As for Sasuke himself, he seems fine – for now."

"Maybe it was a message, a display of Itachi's power. Perhaps he wants Sasuke to witness his ultimate victory. Did you study those seals on Sasuke? As far as I could tell, they are only meant to prevent another implantation."

"Yes, that's it." Kakashi answered promptly. "They are tricky, but I think I can solve them in time. Time that we don't have right now, unfortunately. I can also safely guess that they were Naruto's work, it's all very similar to Jiraiya's style."

"Damn that boy..." Tsunade spoke sadly. "He knows Hiraishin, Kakashi. He is now probably the greatest combat threat we have to watch out for. You know what he can do, we all do."

Kakashi swallowed heavily, he knew all too well what was Hiraishin no jutsu capable of. And he had no doubt that Naruto was as good as sensei used to be. Maybe even better, considering that he also knew the secrets of the Sage Mode. The reports from Kumo's famous Killer Bee confirmed that Naruto was able to take on a tailed beast alone and win. No wonder he gave away Kyuubi, he didn't need the damned thing to win his battles.

Tsunade turned away from Kakashi, staring at the village again. "The village will be almost ready for war, all other villages as well. There has been a recent breakout of mild illnesses among some ninja, but nothing to really worry about for now. Probably some seasonal bug, they always pop up when you need them the least. Take some rest , you will be heavily taxed in the coming days, Kakashi. I'll call you when we're ready to move out."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kakashi nodded and vanished from her office, using her window to shunshin away.

* * *

Raikage growled, crumpling the latest information written on the paper concerning the Akatsuki.

"Damn it all! Every time we learn something, it's worse than before. Now they tell us that Uchiha Itachi has the same power as Uchiha thrice cursed Madara, the Namikaze brat knows that infernal Hiraishin and to top it all there's some outbreak of flu or something going around that had put some good ninja in the bed, making them useless for the war."

"Well, it's not all that bleak Raikage-sama," said one of his advisors. He was an older ninja, who served as advisor to the Third Raikage. "The other villages have agreed to follow our lead and we will have ninja from all villages to supplement our losses. I think that numbers won't be a problem. Suna has also confirmed the knowledge of the area where Shukaku will resurface. We might win this one after all."

"At least I have Yugito and Bee back, they are exceptional warriors even without their beasts." A grumbled, slightly mollified by the return of his brother. Bee was depressed, feeling he had failed the village, but A managed to talk him out of that stupid thinking. Yugito on the other hand was quite angry, which gave her the needed motivation for war. She wanted to hurt the Namikaze brat badly for being such a traitor. The boy was gifted with the greatest treasure of the shinobi world and he betrayed such trust so easily. Yugito despised traitors, more than anyone else. She was a great kunoichi in that way.

* * *

They were gathered in a large circular room, all of them prepared for the final phase of their plan to conquer the known world.

"It's time,"Nagato aka Pein spoke to the members around him. His silver eyes were cold and determined, leaving no doubts about his resolve to succeed. "We know when and where will Shukaku appear, but so do the ninja villages. The area is at the southern border of the Wind Country. It will happen in ten days hence."

"Bad spot, for us that is." Sasori grumbled in his usual deep, robotic tone. "No place for us to hide, make ambushes or even protect ourselves properly. The villages will have the advantage of the open desert area where their big numbers will overwhelm us."

Every shinobi in the room knew that, but someone had to say it loud. All seemed a bit non plussed, but Naruto merely sighed at their short-sightedness. "It's not a matter of beating them, it's just a matter of holding them back long enough to get Shukaku. Which can be done fast, if done my way."

"Oh, yeah?" Deidara sounded challenging. "So tell us what is your plan?"

Naruto smiled. "It's really simple. Their massive force can be rendered useless for a short time by using a wide area barrier technique, combined with several ambushes thrown their way as they have to travel to that spot to battle us. The main concern will be Suna shinobi who will be there before anyone else. Once we defeat them, we put up a barrier and wait for Shukaku to come."

"Naruto, there is no way we can use the barrier for so long. Shukaku's sealing will take at least a day, probably more." Itachi pointed out calmly. "And the enemy will have barrier cracking teams on our barrier as soon as they get there."

Naruto shook his head at the shinobi in the room. "Wrong, wrong...you are forgetting that we already have many biju with us. The greatest concentration of power in the world. They can hold our barrier without any problems. And we do have some manpower to stall the enemy troops on the way. As for Shukaku, we will not seal him into Gedo Mazo. We will use the simplest and fastest method to take him with us – Shukaku was once sealed away in a teapot with special properties. We have something better."

"What?" Kakuzu asked, intrigued despite himself.

"Me," Naruto stated, much to the shock of all present. He smirked. "I can host Shukaku easily for a time. I can survive the extraction process, as demonstrated once. It won't take more than five or ten minutes to do it. Itachi can put Shukaku into docile state with his eyes. I will seal the thing inside myself and the rest of you will make sure that no one disrupts the barrier. Our leader is capable of destroying an army himself, if the need arises. Deidara too."

"You've got some balls, kid. I like that plan." Kisame grinned toothily. "Hell, we might not even have to fight at all. I like fighting like everyone else, but taking on a combined force of all villages is suicidal. This plan needs some adjustments and we're all set to go. The main goal is to get Shukaku, just as brat pointed out. "

"Then we are agreed ?" Nagato asked. Every ninja in the room gave their okay and then the real planning started.

Naruto listened to their plans, approving of some, considering the other ridiculous. But he was pleased, his plans were being made real. It only helped that he took some early initiative when he had infected the ex-jinchuriiki with a specially tailored flu strain that should be taking it's toll right now.

Biological warfare wasn't unknown in shinobi circles, but Naruto was the first to bring it into play this way. The ninja villages would find themselves unpleasantly undermanned when about a third of their forces become bedridden by the strong fever, muscle cramps and pains.

He had created that illness during his three year journey with Jiraiya, mostly because he was eager to test his skills in that area. Perhaps the Force was already guiding him back then, giving him some subconscious clues about the future.

Anyway, the illness would effect regular users of chakra worse than the civilians, so the spread would be limited to the ninja mostly. Naruto made the illness less aggressive and lethal than it really was, because he wanted it to spread unnoticed on a greater number of targets before anyone suspected foul play. He knew that Tsunade would be the first to do so, but it was already too late. And there was no time to make a cure and have these shinobi be combat able by the time they went to collect Shukaku. That was the beauty of the plan, the timing of the events had to be set so that all happened in such a tight temporal frame that no one could do anything worthwhile.

* * *

They never saw their death come, it was all over in a matter of seconds. A hundred Suna ninja were posted around the probable area of Shukaku's reemergence, ready to seal the beast in the temporary container and flee with it to be hidden away from everyone.

They failed, because of one single man.

Naruto had tricked Suna's sensor nin by using the same trick from when he first met Nagato. He suppressed his chakra and shifted it to resemble an animal's; he needed to get closer for his attack to work.

His aerial assault was totally unexpected, nobody could sense a veritable rain of Hiraishin marked kunai falling from the sky. By the time they saw anything, Naruto was already among them and killing with swift wind chakra enhanced sword strikes. Heads and bodies were cut to halves, blood was being spilled on the sands without mercy.

Truth be told, Naruto didn't need the kunai and all the preparations when he had Madara's space –time migration jutsu down to art. But he had company and pretenses had to be upheld.

He activated his radio when he was done, "Okay, I'm done Itachi. How's Sasori and Deidara's part going on?"

"Suna army has been slowed down, it's unlikely they will manage to merge with Konoha's troops on time. Leader-sama is also busy, he's keeping a majority of Konoha's force from advancing. " Came Itachi's answer.

"Good, good. That will give us more time to prepare for catching Shukaku. Be ready to support me when I call for you."

"Of course," Itachi agreed. He ignored the corpses he left in his wake.

* * *

"Yeah, this is fun Sasori no Danna!" Deidara laughed, riding on his clay dragon above the bewildered Suna shinobi who had just suffered am major blow when Deidara's clay mine filed was activated.

Hundreds of Suna nin were terribly wounded, dozens dead or soon to die. Then Sasori's spies under his control turned on their comrades, increasing the confusion and chaos. One of the high ranked officers under Sasori's control managed to kill Baki, the latest Kazekage and that officially broke Suna's force.

Temari and Kankuro could do only so much, rallying the survivors in a hasty regrouping maneuver.

It was bad enough that twenty percent of their shinobi had to stay home because of the sudden outbreak of flu, which was unusually fast and highly infective. It was worse when Deidara's attack virtually decimated them.

But the sudden traitors among them caused a massive drop in combat readiness.

"Look! What are they!" Someone yelled, pointing towards the small army of shambling figures, looking like zombies gone bad.

"Oh, no!" Kankuro hissed to Temari, he recognized them. "Everyone, fall back! Those are Sasori's puppets!"

It was a wrong thing to say, the fear among the surviving forces increased. Sasori was the most feared Suna criminal of the age, the traitor who slew the Sandaime and was known to turn his dead opponents into his puppets.

"All of you stay back!" said the older woman, Chiyo. The ancient kunoichi stared at the puppets with determination, then she turned to Temari. "Girl, take the men to the rendezvous point however you can. I and those under my command will keep my wayward grandson busy. You must meet with Konoha's force or we will not be able to entrap the Akatsuki as they try to steal Shukaku!"

"You might not survive these two, we need to stick together!" Kankuro protested.

Chiyo's brother shook his head. "No, that's all right. For the sake of overall plan, this is our best shot. Go youngster and make sure our sacrifice isn't in vain."

From above, Deidara saw the portion of Suna's army run while the others stayed to face Sasori and his puppets. He grinned evilly. "Damn that brat, but he was right! The idiots are just making this easier!"

Sasori on the ground moved among his puppets, feeling a bit disappointed. They really underestimated him. "Deidara, use that move you like to brag about so much and then return to help me finish these fools off. My grandmother is formidable, but I do not wish to expend all my aces now."

"Yeah, yeah..." Deidara agreed and steered his dragon creature ahead of the fleeing shinobi who thought they could run from him. A gleeful grin found it's way on his effeminate face. "It's time to show them that art is a bang, but sometimes it's quiet and deadly; yeah! C4, coming right up!"

* * *

"It's really sad how easy this had been, " Naruto commented to Itachi who had joined him in the plain littered with corpses.

The rest of the Akatsuki had reported that the allied forces were being suitably distracted for the time being.

"Indeed," Itachi was forced to agree with Naruto. However loyal he was to Konoha, he had to apprecciate Naruto's tactical genius. Then again, he had the same mental capacity and it really wasn't so hard to predict several potential ways the allied villages would try to beat them.

They knew of Naruto's Hiraishin so they naturally assumed that Naruto would be the one sent to kill the group waiting for Shukaku, while his Akatsuki buddies would be forced to face the shinobi armies.

The allied commanders weren't wrong. What they wrongly assumed was that their counter to Naruto's move would work – the shinobi waiting for Shukaku were bait while the covert group of barrier specialists were lying in wait till Naruto came and then they were supposed to trap him inside the barrier designed to stop all space-time manipulations.

They were well hidden inside a barrier of their own; but nobody truly understood how Sage mode worked or what it could do. Naruto was able to sense the disturbance in the nature that revealed the team's location.

That's why Itachi hung back, he was Naruto's secret weapon against the hidden ninja who revealed their location as soon as Suna shinobi started dying. It was a desperate sacrifice, but pointless in the end.

Itachi had toyed with the idea of letting Naruto be caught, but he had a plan of his own which would guarantee the victory of allied ninja forces.

"You don't understand," Naruto shook his head sadly. He stared at Itachi intently, making the Uchiha feel alarmed. "You do know you're as good as dead, don't you?"

Itachi relaxed a little, Naruto was in one of his talk-a-lot moods again. He seemed to like the sound of his voice, too much like Orochimaru. "I suspect that my days are numbered, Pain certainly must've used some precautionary tactic in case I'm a spy or truly Madara's man. I would've done the same."

"That's true,"Naruto chuckled. "You know, I've never meet anyone with so many causes of death in waiting. You're truly unique, Itachi-san. Yet, in the end your death will be caused by Sasuke."

"How so?"

"He's become really clever, you know. I guess Danzo had managed to drum a few good lessons in his stubborn head. Sasuke has saturated his blood with poisonous agent. When you took his eyes, a small dose was injected into your blood as well and that will kill you."

Itachi smiled. "Well, maybe there is hope for Sasuke. I didn't expect him to be so underhanded."

"You don't mind, do you?" Naruto cocked his head, looking at Itachi with interest.

"My plan was to make Sasuke grow strong enough to kill me and he's made me proud." Itachi shrugged. "The clan will live anew, freed from the arrogance of the old. As planned."

"As planned, I like the sound of that." Naruto smiled. He made a hand gesture subtly and a stone rolled in distance. Itachi's head twitched to check it out, it was an instinctive gesture.

That was all Naruto needed to manipulate the shadows and catch Itachi off guard. "Kagemane no jutsu; success."

Itachi tried to force his head to turn back, but Naruto was strong enough. He kept trying for a while, to no avail. Instead he felt himself turn around even more, imitating Naruto's motion. They stood back to back, their faces away from each other.

"I learned it a while ago, from watching Shikamaru train." Naruto explained to Itachi. "It wasn't that hard to learn, the jutsu isn't a bloodline related technique. As you can see, it is very useful when you need to make sure someone's doing exactly what you want. Your eyes are useless now, since you need to see your targets."

Itachi stopped resisting. Naruto was right – his Mangekyou was quite useless. But...he opened his mouth and ravens appeared all around them, it was his genjutsu at work to hide the real assault. He didn't need his eyes for this!

Naruto sensed immense danger now, tensing as the world shifted into darker shade of itself and an immense flock of ravens raised a cawing storm, wings beating furiously and their gleaming eyes...

The Force trembled in that moment and Naruto drew on the Dark Side harder than ever! His eyes changed, becoming red rimmed molten spheres of gold. _Burn!_

The command pulsed in the invisible strands of life and death, giving birth to unseen fire. A single raven screamed and fell, struck by the immense heat of someone's anger given life.

The genjutsu fell apart, leaving only a single raven burned on the sand.

Naruto turned around, giving Itachi a glare promising most horrible fate. "What was that? I could feel it as it almost bore it's way into my head. It wasn't like any illusion I've ever heard of; the reality as I know it seemed to waver."

Itachi was a few steps away from Naruto, his twin Mangekyous shining red and his chakra was ready. "I must admit I'm truly impressed. Your eyes, that was unexpected."

Naruto narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I'd like an explanation, before you die."

"It was something I was saving for Sasuke actually; it's Shisui's eye." Itachi began saying. "Shisui was my partner in all things, that eye was his gift for me to make sure our clan's sacrifice wasn't in vain."

"Uchiha Shisui, the famous comrade of yours. Famed for his mastery over shunshin and genjutsu. So you didn't kill him."

Itachi gave Naruto a sad smile. "I watched him kill himself. His eyes were the most powerful thing he had. Danzo had stolen one and he entrusted the other to me. All for Konoha. He made it seem that he had destroyed them."

"What they could do?"

"They gave him the power to enter someone's mind and alter it according to his will, all without the victim being aware. " Itachi explained. "The ability could be used only every decade or so. I guess it failed in the end."

"It almost worked," Naruto admitted grudgingly. "Were it not for my secret abilities, I'd have become Konoha's loyal dog, right?"

"That's right – the command in the eye was very specific, 'Protect Konoha'." Itachi admitted. "It was my ace in the sleeve for several situations actually. Although none predicted your defection."

"There was no defection, because there was no loyalty to begin with." Naruto snorted.

"I suppose this was inevitable, " Itachi sighed, preparing to fight. His Sharingans started slowly to spin.

"By the Force, will they ever stop underestimating me..." Naruto whispered in annoyed tone and vanished from Itachi's sight.

Itachi felt something behind himself, but it was too late. The blow to the back of his head knocked him out and revealed Naruto with thunderous expression on his face. He kicked Itachi in the ribs, just to vent his anger a bit.

"Did you really think you could match my powers Itachi? I have to admit you almost got me once but that was your only chance and you blew it. I'd like to kill you now, but I told you that Sasuke would be the one to kill you."

Naruto grabbed Itachi by hand and they vanished, reappearing on a small islet somewhere in the middle of nowhere. He placed a mark on Itachi, removing his ability to summon anything.

Naruto looked around, seeing only vast expanse of blue ocean and endless sky. He chuckled to himself. "Enjoy your last days here Uchiha Itachi, it's a good place to die at."

He vanished, leaving Itachi there to meet his end all alone and with knowledge that his plan to subdue Naruto and save Konoha had failed. Naruto had every intention of making sure **HIS** plan worked.

* * *

**Deepest apologies, my faithful readers! Really, really sorry for the long wait till this update. But you know, I've been mulling this part in my head in snippets almost daily and nothing seemed to satisfy my sense of how real Sith Naruto would've done it.**

**Most ways seemed too messy, to flaimboyant and essentially involving massive battles and so on. That seemed just too much like anime and manga, too unoriginal dare I say.**

**It wasn't about battles, huge fireballs and zombie outbreaks; it was about being sly and clever, ruthless and determined. I figured if anyone could take on Itachi at his best and win, it would be Naruto as I imagine him to be here. There is no glory and fame, just power applied in the precise moment.**

**But it's damn hard to do it right, even this will most likely come as a big let down to most of you - but it's the best I could produce with my muse tut-tutting on my shoulder. I hope some of you will find it satisfactory at the least. **

**I can't promise swift updates again, my ideas come and go but only rarely I have the time to properly sit down and write. It never seems like a good moment, it's hard to get going actually. The saying that stories write themelves isn't that far off the mark. It took me two evenings to write scond part of this chapter with the first being written months ago and then left to stew in the back of my head proccupied with daily life.**

**These two evenings seemed proper when i sat and begun typing. Words and images flowed smoothly, although I must admit I was again poor with details. It just didn't seem important during the writing.**

**I hope my little twists worked and that some of you were surprised.**

**To switch subjects, manga has gone better lately and anime is going to look awesome in a month or two! There's still much to happen and Naruto may even last another year after this one. I can't wait to see Sasuke vs Itachi - round two!**

**Of the movies, I saw in cinemas Underworld IV. The series never pretended to be something of enormous quality, but it was decently done in that dark grim style. The third part I didn't watch, the fourth made me sorry for spending my precious money on the ticket. It just wasn't worth it, I should've waited for it on the DVD store.**

**Honestly, they should stop making those vampires and werewolves already. Let's wait another decade before trying again. It worked with Blade, right? Until they ruined it as well. I'd like to hear which vamp movie was the best in your opinion - I'm always fan of Lost Boys. The sequels , not so much. Blade comes in the second place and then Bram Stoker's Dracula with Mr. Kenneth Brannagh and always brilliant Gary Oldman.**

**Can't wait this summer, really. With the Avengers about to assemble, this summer should be awesome. Spiderman reboot? Kill the hollywoodian money grubbers; what the hell are they thinking? Why reboot? The story was there, even if the third part sucked for me. Somehow it seemed too short, too literal. And honestly, if evil means dressing and looking gay and walking down the street with a creepy rythm and stupid pointing act...NO THANK YOU! Tobey must've decided that he was done doing the series if that's what was it coming down to. Btw, Kirsten Dunst is hot and all, but I just couldn't stomach her in this one. Her role just made me want to scream how pathetic she came out to be. **

**By the way, what's with the post Avatar 3d madness among filmmakers? It's not good, not in my opinion. 2D is just fine for me, really. I had to suffer through the last Hpotter movie, because my cousins wanted to see it so I went along. It was 3d version and I sat throught it somehow always wondering waht was the hype all about. I didn't see anything special that would make the picture more 'realistic' or something. It also gave me mild headache.**

**Which is why it pissed me off when I heard of SW done in 3D! C'mon, quit it already...**

**Smurfs are my childhood favorites; I don't have the guts to see them on big screen today. I was told it would ruin my good memories of them. What do you guys think?**

**Yeah, the last and the best - ACTA, die,die,die! May Sasuke burn you with his righteous Uchiha vengeance! **


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